Beni Ali's son-in-law seeks asylum
2013-02-06 21:13
Victoria - The Seychelles said on Wednesday the son-in-law
of Tunisia's deposed dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has requested asylum in
the Indian Ocean archipelago.
"The Seychelles government wishes to confirm receipt of
a request for asylum that was submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs by a
Tunisian national, Mr Sakhr El Materi, who is currently in country," the
foreign ministry said in a statement.
Materi, who was convicted in absentia of corruption by a
Tunisian court, fled to Qatar just before the overthrow of his father-in-law's
regime in 2011, but the Gulf emirate agreed to expel him in September.
Materi was briefly in the Seychelles in December, leaving
after he was questioned by police for trying to enter on an expired diplomatic
passport, but returned last month.
Seychelles said it would consider the request "on
completion of an assessment to determine whether the grounds for the
application are applicable under Seychelles' laws", the statement added.
Tunisian officials have said they would do everything to get
Materi extradited.
Ben Ali and his close family used to go on holiday to the
Seychelles in secret prior to the revolution.
State administration
Said to be the ex-dictator's favourite son-in-law and long
seen as a possible successor, Materi was sentenced in absentia to 16 years in
prison and fined 97 million dinars ($61m) for corruption and property fraud.
Married to Ben Ali's eldest daughter Nesrine, the
businessman owned Princess Holding and was active in virtually every economic
sector.
His properties have either been confiscated or placed under
state administration.
The north African country has repeatedly asked Saudi Arabia,
where Ben Ali took refuge with his wife Leila Trabelsi after they fled Tunisia
on in January 2011, to extradite him.
Ben Ali has been sentenced in absentia to life in prison for
presiding over the bloody protest crackdown that ignited the Arab Spring, and
convicted on other charges that include incitement to murder, embezzlement and
abuse of power.
