Wed, 26 Jan 2011
Paris - Thousands of prisoners in Tunisia have shaken off their shackles since autocratic ex-president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, who could face imminent arrest, went into exile, the country's justice minister said Wednesday.
Around 11,000 prisoners have escaped from prisons around the country since Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia in mid-January after a youth uprising against his rule, minister Lazhar Karoui Chebbi told a press conference.
A fraction of the escapees - 1,532 prisoners - have since handed themselves in, Chebbi said, adding authorities were investigating the breakouts, which appear to be aimed at fueling instability.
Chebbi also announced that Tunisia had asked international police organization Interpol to issue an international arrest warrant for Ben Ali, his wife Leila and other relatives on charges of illegally acquiring assets and making illicit money transfers out of Tunisia.
Paris-based Interpol had yet to comment on the case.
The dictatorial Ben Ali left power after a month of demonstrations and riots that cost dozens of lives, mostly those of unarmed protesters.
His family and relatives, particularly the Trabelsi clan, are accused of having used their political connections to amass massive wealth.
The move to have them arrested comes as Tunisians await the announcement, which had been set for Wednesday, of a reshuffle of their transitional government.
Government ministers have been locked in discussions about what changes should be made to the week-old unity government to win it more support.
Thousands of protesters have been demonstrating daily to demand ministers linked to the Ben Ali regime be dismissed.
The protests continued Wednesday in the capital Tunis and in the second-largest city of Sfax.
Police in Tunis fired tear gas at a group of around 1,000 protesters, who have been staging a sit-in outside Ghannouchi's offices since Sunday.
Witnesses in Sfax, where a general strike was called Wednesday, said tens of thousands of people marched to demand the new government be scrapped.
A similar strike has been called for Thursday in Sidi Bouzid, the central town where the Jasmine Revolution began on December 15, with the self-immolation of a vegetable vendor in protest over official harassment.
Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/364384,arrest-sought-summary.html.
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