Tunisian court hands six-year prison sentence in absentia to former First Lady

The Tunis Court of First Instance condemned former First Lady Leila Ben Ali to six years in prison in absentia for traffic of influence, Webdo Tunis reports.

The criminal chamber specialized in financial corruption cases accused the wife of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali who died in exile in Saudi Arabia in 2019, of using her influence to take a loan without providing a collateral.

The Thursday ruling adds to multiple other court decisions that amount to 35 years in prison and 45 million-fine for embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds and six years in prison for complicity and illegal possession of currency in another trial.

The couple fled the country in 2011 in the heart of the revolution that put an end to 24 years of power of Ben Ali.

Tunisian authorities have estimated that the couple has siphoned multiple millions of dollars out of the country.