Trial of Ben Ali relatives and allies postponed

At the request of the defence, the trial was postponed in the "Tunis-Carthage Airport Case" to Wednesday August 10, 2011 in which 23 relatives of the deposed president and his spouse are involved, including former chief of the presidential security Ali Seriati. The trial started on Tuesday morning in a second session, with attendance of 30 lawyers, according to the Tunisian news agency. Seventeen among the charged persons appeared before the Court under arrest, three were free and three others were absent. The Court had interrogated, on July 26, 2011, Leila Trabelsi''s brothers and sisters, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali''s relatives, as well as Ali Seriati. The defence lawyers, in this trial, were unanimous to request the postponement of the trial, in order to further enquire about the file. The charges against the family members of the deposed president and his wife include notably attempt to leave the national territory illegally, illegal possession of important sums of foreign currency, possession of international credit cards and jewelry traffic.