Post date: Feb 18, 2011 5:11:56 PM
A Saudi source says former Tunisian president is in coma in Saudi Arabia after stroke.
TUNISIA FILE-BEN ALI SICK - An unidentified source in Saudi Arabia claims Tunisia's ousted president is seriously ill.
The source says former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali is in a Jeddah hospital "in grave condition" after suffering a stroke and then slipping into a coma.
The 74-year-old fled his home country on January 14 due to massive anti-government protests.
Before leaving, Ben Ali declared a state of emergency and threatened to open fire on protestors.The demonstrations sparked when a college-educated fruit vendor lit himself on fire to protest rampant corruption and unemployment.
Though the leader is credited with ensuring stability in the region, his critics accuse him of numerous rigged elections during his more than 20-year reign as well as human rights violations.
Ben Ali took power in 1987 after convincing doctors to diagnose then president-for-life and founder of modern Tunisia Habib Bourguiba as senile and unfit for rule.
Unrest in Tunisia was the flashpoint for Egypt's ouster of President Hosni Mubarak on February 11 and the ongoing protests across the region.
Jessica Gray, Reuters