French court denies extradition of ex-Tunisian President Ben Ali’s daughter

Paris said its ruling was based on Tunisia not responding to a request for guarantees of a trial by an independent, impartial court.A French court has refused to extradite the daughter of Tunisia’s late deposed president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who is wanted in her home country over alleged financial crimes.The Paris Appeals Court said its ruling on Wednesday was based on Tunisia’s failure to respond to a request for guarantees of a trial by an independent and impartial court.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Activists decry state of Tunisia’s democracy, 15 years after Arab Springlist 2 of 4Why the Arab Spring was never a failurelist 3 of 4Two popular Tunisian journalists handed three-year jail termslist 4 of 4Born after the Arab Spring: 37 million Egyptians have no memory of 2011end of listHalima Ben Ali was arrested in September last year at Tunisia’s request, as she was about to board a flight from Paris to Dubai, on charges of laundering assets gained through her father’s rule of the North African country from 1987 to 2011.Ali’s lawyer, Samia Maktouf, has argued that sending her home would be tantamount to “a death sentence”.“This decision is an immense relief; justice has been served, and we can only be satisfied that it has reached a decision in accordance with the law,” Maktouf declared after the verdict, the Tunis-founded, Paris-based outlet Jeune Afrique reported.The financial crimes alleged by Tunisia could carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, the outlet said.Ali’s arrest marked a renewed push by Tunis to recover misappropriated assets and pursue accountability for the former ruling family, seeking justice over a decade after the Arab Spring revolts.Ben Ali was the first leader in the region to be toppled by the revolution.The former security chief worked to repress any challenges to his rule and installed a rigid system anchored in security services and a loyal governing party.He opened up the economy, leading to economic growth, but the country was mired in deepening corruption, inequality, and media censorship, causing public outrage.