Leïla Ben Ali

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Leïla Ben Ali (2010)

Leïla Ben Ali ( Arabic ليلى بن علي, DMG Lailā b. ʿAlī ; Maiden name Leïla Trabelsi ; * October 14, 1956 ) is the widow Zine el-Abidine Ben Alis , the President of Tunisia from 1987 to 2011, and was the First Lady of Tunisia after her marriage on March 26, 1992 to 2011 . Before that, she allegedly worked as a hairdresser. She is held responsible for the expansion of corruption in Tunisia, the main beneficiaries of which were members of her own family, the Trabelsi clan , which, according to the American embassy in Tunis, is quasi- mafia . Zine el-Abidine and Leïla Ben Ali's personal fortune, accumulated over 23 years in power, was estimated at 5 billion euros.

Ben Ali was also known for her work in various charitable associations and organizations, with the Arab Women Organization playing a special role . Western media have been discussing for a long time whether this engagement merely served to improve their public image or whether it resulted from actual conviction. Among other things, Ben Ali was described as the most progressive and progressive woman in the Arab world and caused a sensation there by wearing high heels and very figure-hugging clothing.

Escape

During the events of the revolution in Tunisia 2010/2011 , Leïla Ben Ali fled to Dubai on January 12, 2011. Before her flight, she is said to have personally picked up 1.5 tons of gold worth 45 million euros from the central bank and transported it away by plane. She is also said to have ordered the governor of the central bank to transfer 400 million euros to Dubai. After consulting with Ben Ali, he followed the instructions.

Legal proceedings

Charges were brought against Ben Ali and his wife Leïla Trabelsi in Tunisia in early May. The then Justice Minister Lazhar Karoui Chebbi spoke of 18 charges, including "conspiracy against internal security", "inciting chaos, murder and looting", "drug use", "drug trafficking" and "murder".

A first trial of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali and Leïla Trabelsi took place on June 20, 2011 in Tunis in the absence of the defendants, the allegation of embezzlement of state assets. Ben Ali and his wife were both sentenced to 35 years in prison after just one day of trial, and the court fined millions of euros.

Book publication

In July 2012, Leïla Ben Ali published a 200-page book entitled “ Ma vérité ” (German: “ My Truth ”) about her view of the revolution. In this she described the events as a " coup d'état " directed by France and reported on her hasty escape to Saudi Arabia. She also denied having taken valuables with her, as various media reported, and was disappointed by Nicolas Sarkozy , about whom she said in an advertising interview for the book that he " never refused the products of our region that we sent him " .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Khaled A. Nasri, “Ben Ali, de Naima Kéfi à Leïla Trabelsi”, Afrik.com , July 30, 2008
  2. ↑ a b c Stefan Simons: The insatiable greed of the presidential clan. Spiegel-Online, January 18, 2011, accessed February 19, 2011 .
  3. ↑ Julie Calleeuw: "Tunisie: les Trabelsi, une" quasi-mafia "" , RTBF , August 16, 2013
  4. ↑ Brief resistance from the bank chief. In: ORF . January 17, 2011, accessed January 17, 2011 .
  5. ^ Rainer Hermann: Behind the Saudi veil. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. January 16, 2011, accessed January 17, 2011 .
  6. ↑ Charges brought against Ben Ali. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . May 5, 2011, accessed May 5, 2011 .
  7. ↑ Süddeutsche Zeitung : 35 years imprisonment - but Ben Ali is in exile , June 20, 2011.
  8. ↑ http://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/tunesien-durch-ihre-augen/6955100.html
  9. ↑ Reiner Wandler: The "Queen of Carthage" is unpacking. In: the daily newspaper . July 23, 2012. Retrieved July 25, 2012 .
personal data
SURNAME Ben Ali, Leïla
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Trabelsi, Leïla (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Tunisian wife of the President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali
DATE OF BIRTH October 14, 1956