Al-Aqrabi denies close ties with Ben Ali's family

The head of "Mothers of Tunisia's Assembly", al-Sayeda al-Aqrabi, has denied she was close to the ousted Tunisian president Zeinelabedin Ben Ali and his wife, Layla Al-Trabelsi, saying "she is an internationally well-known figure, and a member of several international women's and children's organisations, so she is a source of pride to Tunisians, Arabs, and the whole Muslim nation". In an interview with the Express radio station, al-Aqrabi said "I had no close ties with the former president or his wife, but sometimes I had to meet them to discuss the civil activities which I was assigned to." With regard to  corruption accusations,  al-Aqrabi commented "I did not belong to the former regime, and I don't own any properties except for my house and another apartment, while at the same time,  I was donating my own money to the charity projects." Al-Aqrabi alleged that Ben Ali's regime  "achieved a great deal to provide security and develop the national economy". Al-Aqrabi also expressed her disagreement with the decision to dissolve Ben Ali's Party (The Democratic Constitutional Rally), of which she was a member, describing it as "The Patriots Party". Al-Aqrabi was arrested at a French airport last Sunday on the back of an international security warrant, as she is subject to judgement in Tunisia, after she was charged with stealing 5000 Euros from her assembly's bank account, a charge which she denies, saying that she had withdrawn the money in order to pay the wages of the assembly's employees.