Habib Ben Ali

Habib Ben Ali, also known as Moncef El Habib Ben Ali (Arabic: حبيب بن علي or Arabic: منصف الحبيب بن علي; born on August 21, 1941, and died on May 15, 1996, in Tunis[1]) was a Tunisian criminal and younger brother of former President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali.[2]

Activities

In France, his base was in Belleville from where he managed drug trafficking as well as other criminal activities (procuring, racketeering, etc.). He also owned cafes, pizzerias, agriculture and real estate as well as import-export companies in IT and luxury cars.[3]

Trial and sentencing

He was sentenced in absentia, in the so-called couscous connection case, on November 30, 1992, to ten years in prison and an indefinite ban on access to French territory by the 14th Chamber of the Correctional Court of Paris.[4] He was accused of having transported money from international trafficking in heroin and cocaine between the Netherlands, France and Tunisia[5] while his lawyer, Jean-Yves Leborgne, denounced a "political manipulation" repeating that he had "no material proof" that Moncef participated in "money laundering."[6] Moreover, Moncef was not present at his trial which began on 17 November.[7]

Following the 2011 revolution, several other members of the Ben Ali and Trabelsi families were arrested and prosecuted.

Disappearance

On May 15, 1996, he was found dead without having served his sentence in an apartment in Tunis "in circumstances still not fully understood."[8][9] Tunisian activist Sadri Khiari suspected he may have been assassinated.[9] He was buried on the same day[10] at the cemetery of Hammam Sousse.[1]

His body was exhumed on May 3, 2012, so it could be autopsied.[1][10]

References
  1. Wafa Sdiri (3 May 2012). "Tunisie : exhumation du corps de Moncef Ben Ali sous une haute surveillance sécuritaire". tunisienumerique.com (in French). Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  2. "Tunisia leader's convicted brother dies". upi.com. 17 May 1996. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  3. Lise Garon (1998). Le Silence tunisien : les alliances dangereuses au Maghreb (in French). Montréal. Harmattan. pp. 158 (of 297). ISBN 978-2-89489-040-0. OCLC 39354636.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. "La couscous connection". lemonde.fr (in French). 3 November 1995. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  5. "Jailed for a joint: Tunisia's drug law throws thousands into hellish prisons". Middle East Eye. 16 February 2017.
  6. "Après la condamnation de son client, l'avocat de Habib Ben Ali dénonce une "manipulation politique"". lemonde.fr (in French). 3 December 1992. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  7. "Couscous connection. (Tunisian President Zinc el-Abidine Ben Ali's brother on trial in France)". The Economist. 28 November 1992. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
  8. Ahmed Bennour; Slim Bagga (24 December 2009). "Tunisie : menaces de mort contre des opposants". lematindz.net (in French). Retrieved 19 August 2020..
  9. Sadri Khiari (October 2004). "De Wassila à Leïla, Premières dames et pouvoir en Tunisie". Politique Africaine (in French): 55–70. ISSN 0244-7827. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  10. "Tunisie. Moncef Ben Ali est-il mort empoisonné ?". kapitalis.com (in French). 3 May 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
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