Former Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali is seriously ill in a Saudi hospital, reports say.<\/p>\n
Mr Ben Ali, who was deposed in a popular uprising last month, has suffered a stroke, a family friend told AFP news agency.<\/p>\n
The 74-year-old flew to Saudi Arabia with his family after weeks of mass protests over unemployment and poverty.<\/p>\n
Tunisia now has an interim government which is preparing the country for national elections.<\/p>\n
The family friend, who was not named, said the former president was “in a coma” in a hospital in Jeddah.<\/p>\n
“He had a stroke, and his condition is serious,” he said.<\/p>\n
Tunisia’s Le Quotidien newspaper also reported on Thursday that Mr Ben Ali had suffered a stroke.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a Saudi source quoted by Reuters news agency said Mr Ben Ali was “in a grave condition”.<\/p>\n
Earlier, a spokesman for Tunisia’s interim government refused to confirm nor deny reports that Mr Ben Ali was in hospital.<\/p>\n
The Tunisian uprising ended Mr Ben Ali’s 23-year hold on power.<\/p>\n
Although he was credited with creating political stability and strong economic growth, critics say he disregarded human rights and democratic values – claims he denies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Former Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali is seriously ill in a Saudi hospital, reports say. Mr Ben Ali, who was deposed in a popular uprising last month, has suffered a stroke, a family friend told AFP news agency. The 74-year-old flew to Saudi Arabia with his family after weeks of mass protests over unemployment […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-276288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n