Deposed and exiled Tunisian autocrat Zine el Abidine Ben Ali broke his silence Monday to denounce his imminent trial on corruption charges as a "masquerade", according to his French lawyer.
"Tired of being made a sacrificial lamb by lies and injustice, President Ben Ali has exceptionally dropped his discretion," Jean-Yves Le Borgne, who represents the former leader in France, said in a statement to AFP.
Ben Ali fled Tunisia in January following a revolt against his rule, and is thought to be in Saudi Arabia. Tunisia's new authorities are preparing to try him and his wife Leila Trabelsi on various graft charges.
"The searches conducted in his official and personal offices are just stage-dressing designed to discredit him," Le Borgne alleged.
"The case that Tunisia is building against him is nothing but a masquerade which serves no purpose other than to mark a symbolic break with the past."
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