BEIRUT: Former Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the first leader toppled in a wave of uprisings around the Arab world, has denied all charges against him on the eve of his trial in absentia back home. Ben Ali, whose trial by a criminal court begins in Tunis Monday, “strongly denies all charges they are trying to press as he never possessed the sums of money they claimed to have found in his office,” his Beirut-based lawyer Akram Azoury said in a statement released Sunday. Ben Ali “hopes with all his heart that Tunisia will overcome its current chaos and darkness and continue its path to progress,” he added. The former strongman is to be tried in absentia by a criminal court over some 93 cases against his entourage. Ben Ali could face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty of the charges, which include offenses related to drugs and weapons found in a palace in Carthage. But Monday's trial is only the beginning of a long legal process that may see top members of Ben Ali's regime in the dock over allegations that include murder, torture, money laundering and trafficking of archeological artefacts. Of the 93 charges Ben Ali and his inner circle now face, 35 will be referred to the military court, justice ministry spokesman Kadhem Zine El Abidine. The head of the military justice system, Col. Maj. Marwane Bouguerra, has said former interior minister Rafik Belhaj Kacem may find himself named in cases linked to 300 civilian deaths in protests between Dec. 17 and Jan. 14. At least two lawyers have been appointed to defend Ben Ali and his wife in the trials, one in France and the second in Lebanon. Ben Ali's lawyer in Beirut said he would deny the accusations one by one. “If he (Ben Ali) possessed these exorbitant sums of money, such as were allegedly found in his office, would he not have taken the money with him when he left the country?” Azoury asked. “The arms that were allegedly found were hunting weapons and mostly gifts from heads of state on their visits to Tunisia,” he added. “The allegations of drug possession are but shameful lies and fabrications. We urge you to think for a moment: the drugs were allegedly found two months after (Ben Ali) left Tunisia, around the same time the money was found. Is this stupid, ridiculous charge not proof of the fabrication of this entire trial?”
