Brother-in-law of Tunisia's ousted president Ben Ali gets 10 years for corruption

Tunisians burn tyres and block roads in the southern city of Tataouine to protest against government failures. AFP

A Tunisian court sentenced Belhassen Trabelsi, the brother-in-law of ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, to 10 years in jail for corruption.

The court also sentenced Sami Fehri, the owner of El Hiwar TV, to eight years in prison in the same case, state-run news agency TAP reported on Tuesday.

The court fined the two men $14.51 million for using state television resources for the benefit of a private company and transferring advertising revenue to their company.

A former military intelligence chief, Ben Ali ruled Tunisia for 23 years, taking power when, as prime minister in 1987, he declared president-for-life Habib Bourguiba medically unfit to rule.

Ben Ali fled Tunisia with his wife, Leila, in January 2011 to Saudi Arabia, as his people rose up against his oppressive rule in a revolution that inspired other uprisings in the Middle East and led to a democratic transition at home.

A Tunisian court sentenced him in absentia that year to 35 years in prison.

He died in exile in Saudi Arabia in September 2019 and was buried there.