Tunisia's Ben Ali to be tried Monday

Ousted Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his wife Leila Trabelsi keep a low profile in Saudi city of Jeddah. (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/185326.html

Ousted Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who is in Saudi Arabia, is to go on trial as Riyadh is opposing Tunisians' requests to hand him over.

A criminal court in the capital Tunis is to begin hearing the first of about 93 cases brought against the former Tunisian ruler on Monday, AFP reported Sunday.

Tunisia's new authorities are planning to try Ben Ali and his wife on drugs, guns and graft charges in absentia after the discovery of millions of dollars cash and jewellery, weapons and drugs in presidential palaces.

The ousted Tunisian president is to face nearly 90 charges ranging from murder and torture to money laundering, but his French lawyer Jean-Yves Le Borgne has rejected the accusation, slamming the trial as a "masquerade."

Ben Ali is also accused of being involved in the killing of 300 anti-government protesters during the uprising in the North African country.

Ben Ali fled the country on January 14 after a month-long popular uprising against his 23-year rule that later inspired other revolutions across the Arab world.

He is currently living in a villa in the Red Sea city of Jeddah along with his wife Leila Trabelsi and the Saudi government has not responded to Tunisian requests to hand over the former president.

The Tunisian revolution was the first of a string of uprisings against autocratic rulers in the Middle East and North Africa.

An interim government headed by caretaker Prime Minister Beji Caid Essebsi now rules Tunisia.

A large number of Tunisians are opposed to the new government as it still includes figures from the ousted regime.

Iran asks UN to probe West's crimes

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/168633.html

Iran has called on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to look into the crimes committed by Western powers as the main supporters of dictators in the Middle East.

The Human Rights Council of Iran's Judiciary has, in a statement, asked the UNHRC and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay to review the crimes by Western powers as the key allies of ousted dictators in the region.

“The Iranian [Judiciary's] Human Rights Council welcomes the massive popular uprisings in Islamic countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and regards them as a clear sign of national awakening and open opposition to totalitarian, illegitimate and puppet governments, and categorically condemns the brutal killing of people by the elements of these governments,” read the statement.

The statement underlined that Western countries, especially the US and Britain, have, for decades, been offering political and military assistance to the region's dictators, and are undoubtedly accessories to their crimes.

“It is necessary that the UNHRC closely look into the crimes committed by these rulers who have the blood of their people on their hands, and also review the key role of Western powers which have denied no help to these rulers,” read the statement.

The statement underscored that Western officials should be held accountable for all the crimes committed over the past decades with their money and weapons.