Tunisia leader’s kin seeks asylum in Canada

Associated Press

TORONTO

The Canadian government said Saturday that the brother-in-law of ousted Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has applied for refugee status in Canada, effectively blocking efforts to extradite him to the North African country.

Belhassen Trabelsi, a billionaire Tunisian businessman and brother of former first lady Leila Trabelsi, reportedly arrived in Canada last week with his family.

As the first lady’s oldest brother, he was known as the Trabelsi clan chieftain and is suspected of running the family’s many mafia-style rackets.

Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. that Trabelsi has submitted a claim for asylum.

Cannon had said earlier that the government would try to comply with Tunisia’s extradition request, but under Canadian law, it could take years to decide the asylum and extradition cases, given the lengthy appeals process.