[ad_1]
Belhbaden Trabelsi, the brother-in-law of the deposed Tunisian president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, seen in 2010, is wanted by the Tunisian authorities for abuse of power and fraud. By FETHI BELAID (AFP / File)
Tunisia said on Sunday that it was demanding the extradition of Ben Ali's brother-in-law, Zine El Abidine, who was arrested in France and is wanted at home for fraud.
The Ministry of Justice, in a statement received by AFP, said that he had learned from the Interpol office in Tunis that Belhbaden Trabelsi had been arrested Thursday in France.
He indicated that he was facing 17 arrest warrants in Tunisia and 43 international warrants.
There was no official confirmation in France of the arrest of Trabelsi.
But a source close to the investigation said that he had been arrested in the south of the country earlier this week for alleged financial offenses. There were no other details.
The millionaire businessman and brother of Ben Ali's wife, Leila Trabelsi, left Tunisia in January 2011 when the uprising of the Arab Spring forced the veteran leader to flee to Saudi Arabia.
Trabelsi and his family flew to Montreal on a private plane where he applied for political asylum, but Canada rejected his appeal in 2015 and, a year later, while he was on the plane. he was preparing to deport him, he disappeared.
He is wanted in Tunisia where he has led a clan that has embezzled public funds.
In June 2008, a leaked American diplomatic cable revealed that Trabelsi was "the most notorious family member (Ben Ali) and that the rumor was involved in a wide range of corrupt schemes."
Trabelsi – whose holdings include an airline and hotels – has denied the charges against him, saying he had accumulated his fortune as a successful business leader.
[ad_2]
Source link
