Tunisian justice continues its accountability work regarding the files of the Ben Ali era. The Indictment Chamber specializing in financial corruption cases at the Tunis Court of Appeal has decided to refer Douraid and Akram Bououina, nephews of the late former president Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, to the criminal chamber of the Court of First Instance of Tunis, reports Mosaique FM.
The two men are being prosecuted for financial offenses linked to suspicions of illicit enrichment and embezzlement. Akram Bououina, currently on the run, is the subject of a committal warrant issued by the Indictment Chamber, which ordered his incarceration upon his return to the territory or upon his arrest.
A file which is part of the continuity of the affairs of the Ben Ali regime
Since the 2011 revolution, several members of the former president’s extended family, as well as his close associates, have been targeted by legal investigations into embezzlement of public funds, abuse of power and suspicious financial transactions. The Trabelsi family, in particular, has been the subject of numerous trials and convictions.
The Bououina affair reminds us that Tunisia has still not completely turned the page on the economic crimes of the old regime. Despite the slowness of certain procedures, justice is trying to settle the accounts of the old system and meet expectations of transparency and accountability.
