Ousted Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was sentenced on Thursday to sixteen years in absentia.

Ousted Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was sentenced on Thursday to sixteen years in absentia.

The court found Ben Ali, along with his daughter and son-in-law, guilty of corruption in property deals. A nephew of Ben Ali was also convicted of drug charges in the proceedings.

Ben Ali has already been sentenced in his absence to a total of more than 50 years in prison in two separate trials.
The toppled president fled to Saudi Arabia in January after a popular uprising against his autocratic, 23-year rule.

Ben Ali was accused in two different cases of intervening personally to secure property for his family members at prices well below market value.
His daughter Nesrine and her husband Sakhr Materi were also convicted and sentenced to eight years and 16 years in prison, respectively.

All three were collectively ordered to pay about $100m in damages and interest to the Tunisian state.

The former president  faces more than 100 charges in civil and military cases, some of which could result in a death sentence, including his role in deaths during the uprisings.