Tunis: Minister of Defense under Bin Ali jailed

A Tunisian Court has issued a warrant for the imprisonment of Reza Garira, the last Minister of Defence under Ben Ali. The decision follows his alleged involvement in estate-related cases while he was Minister of State Property and Land Affairs. Garira also faces charges related to the exploitation of a employee and of illegally purchasing state-owned land the deposed Tunisian President Ben Ali’s brother. Garira has refused to assist investigations into the final days of Ben Ali’s rule. There are currently a number of old regime officials on trial on charges of corruption and bribery. The Committee dealing with those cases is headed by Jurist Abdel Fattah Omar, who said on Tuesday that the Committee had received more than 10,000 civilian complaints. The Committee has so far addressed 4000 complaints and has referred 223 of these to the court. Omar describes the complaints as “serious and of serious concern to those close to old regime officials.”