Ben Ali's nephew sentenced to jail

A Tunisian court sentenced a nephew of ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to 15 years in jail in his absence for issuing bad cheques, the state news agency TAP reported Wednesday. The court in Beja, 105 kilometres (65 miles) east of the capital Tunis, announced the cumulative sentence after finding Sofian Ben Ali guilty of issuing bad cheques totalling more than 300,000 euros (430,000 dollars). On Monday another court sentenced ousted Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his wife to 35 years in prison each for misappropriating public funds and fined the exiled couple tens of millions of euros. The couple were charged with embezzlement after the discovery of money and jewellery in their palace in the outskirts of Tunis. Ben Ali -- accompanied by his wife and two children -- left Tunisia for Saudi Arabia in January at the climax of the first of the Arab uprisings. The Ben Ali clan faces several other lawsuits, including before military jurisdictions, for killings perpetrated during the brutal crackdown on the popular uprising that ultimately led to the strongman's ouster on January 14.