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Ex-Regime Figure Wanted by Tunisia is Not in Turkey

A key figure from the ousted regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali wanted by Tunisia is currently not in Turkey and has returned to France, a diplomatic source told Agence France Presse on Friday.

Tunisia has asked Turkey to arrest and extradite Saida Agrebi under an international arrest warrant after her presence in the Turkish capital was disclosed by Tunisian media.

Agrebi attended an international meeting in Ankara on Wednesday and Thursday in her capacity as vice president of the World Family Organization.

Turkish officials did not know that Agrebi was a member of the World Family Organization awarded by Ankara, the source said.

"The (Turkish) Family Ministry invited a nongovernmental organization and presented the award to that organization. It was not known that she was vice-president of that organization."

Tunisian media published photographs of Agrebi being presented with an award and with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the gathering.

Agrebi was a key figure in the regime of Ben Ali, who fled Tunisia for Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2011, and a close aide of his wife Leila Trabelsi.

The US-educated Agrebi fled Tunisia for Europe on July 30 that year.

Source: Agence France Presse


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