Tunisia issues warrant for Ben Ali's arrest

TUNISIA HAS issued international arrest warrants for deposed president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and his family over alleged theft and currency offences, the minister for justice said yesterday.

Lazhar Karoui Chebbi said Tunis had asked Interpol to detain Mr Ben Ali, who fled to Saudi Arabia earlier this month after weeks of street protests.

Former first lady Leila Trabelsi, whose family members had extensive business interests in Tunisia and are believed to have amassed considerable wealth, are also to be pursued.

“We are asking Interpol to find all those who fled, including the president and this woman, for trial in Tunisia,” the minister for justice said.

Mr Chebbi also confirmed that six members of the presidential guard would be put on trial for inciting violence after Mr Ben Ali’s departure. In the days after the president of 23 years went into exile, gun battles and sniper attacks occurred across Tunis as the authorities were confronted by militia still loyal to Mr Ben Ali. Further details of the disorder that followed the uprising emerged yesterday when Mr Chebbi said about 11,000 prisoners – about one-third of the total jail population – had escaped from Tunisian jails.

On January 15th, the day after Mr Ben Ali left, dozens of inmates were reported to have been killed in a mass breakout from a prison in the town of Mahdia. The same day, 42 inmates were killed in a prison riot in Monastir. The government said yesterday 2,460 prisoners had been released in the past 10 days, but it was not clear how many of them had been in jail for political crimes.

In the old city of Tunis yesterday, police again used tear gas to disperse demonstrators demanding the removal from office of ministers linked to Mr Ben Ali’s RCD party. Despite the presence of several opposition figures in the new unity coalition charged with preparing for elections, the retention of old guard figures in ministries such as interior and defence has angered a section of the protest movement.

The Tunisian General Labour Union added to pressure on the government yesterday when it announced a general strike in Sfax, Tunisia’s second city, where thousands of protesters gathered to demand a change of government. It is widely believed a considerable section of public opinion is in favour of the interim government under prime minister Mohamed Ghannouchi, but a reshuffle aimed at placating the protesters is expected this week.

As recriminations continued in France over the government’s handling of the Tunisian revolution, meanwhile, the foreign ministry replaced its ambassador in Tunis with a close ally of President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Government spokesman François Baroin said Pierre Ménat would be replaced by Boris Boillon, the current ambassador to Iraq, who worked for two years as a diplomatic adviser to Mr Sarkozy on the Middle East and North Africa.

In a speech on Monday, Mr Sarkozy conceded that his government had underestimated the gravity of the popular uprising that removed Mr Ben Ali, a long-time ally of successive French presidents. Foreign minister Michèle Alliot-Marie has been sharply criticised for offering Tunisia French expertise in crowd control in the days before Mr Ben Ali fled.