Ben Ali to be tried on possession of narcotics

Overthrown Tunisian president Zine el Abidine Ben Ali and his wife Leila Trabelsi, the first leader of a regime to topple in the Arab spring, will be judged with a few weeks, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Justice told a press conference in Tunis today.

But only in absentia.

Ben Ali and his wife escaped to Saudi Arabia on January 14th, after what is now referred to as a Jasmine Revolution.

In office for over 23 years, the dictator has a lot on his rap sheet.

In February, the Tunisian Anti-Corruption Commission found 27 million dollars in cash at his palace in Sidi Bou Said, a northern suburb of Tunis.

More interesting, perhaps, is that the commission will try Ben Ali for possession.

At Ben Ali's presidential palace in Carthage, a Tunisian town known for Roman ruins, authorities report that they found a stash of unspecified narcotics, rumored to be hashish. 2 kilograms.

Meanwhile, unemployment among Tunisian youth is reported by various sources to have hovered around 30 percent before the self-immolation of Mohammed Bouazizi and the beginning of the modern day Tunisian revolution.