Tunisia's former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was buried in the Muslim holy city of Medina on Saturday Sep 21,2019
Ben Ali, who died Thursday in the city of Jeddah, was laid to rest at Al-Baqi cemetery next to the Prophet Mohammed's mosque -- a place of great reverence for Muslims
His body, covered by a green shroud, was carried to his final resting place by a procession of about a dozen men.
Ben Ali, the first leader to be toppled by the Arab Spring revolts, died aged 83.
He ruled his North African country from 1987 until 2011 and was viewed by some as a bulwark against Islamist extremism, but he faced criticism for muzzling the opposition and his reluctance to embrace democracy.
Eventually, growing frustration over unemployment and high prices snapped.
In late 2010, a young trader in Sidi Bouzid, in the impoverished centre of the country, set fire to himself in protest at humiliation by police.
That sparked protests which rocked Tunisia and triggered a deadly clampdown.
But the protesters won: on January 14, 2011 Ben Ali fled Tunisia for Saudi Arabia where he stayed until his death.
Ben Ali, who died Thursday in the city of Jeddah, was laid to rest at Al-Baqi cemetery next to the Prophet Mohammed's mosque -- a place of great reverence for Muslims
His body, covered by a green shroud, was carried to his final resting place by a procession of about a dozen men.
Ben Ali, the first leader to be toppled by the Arab Spring revolts, died aged 83.
He ruled his North African country from 1987 until 2011 and was viewed by some as a bulwark against Islamist extremism, but he faced criticism for muzzling the opposition and his reluctance to embrace democracy.
Eventually, growing frustration over unemployment and high prices snapped.
In late 2010, a young trader in Sidi Bouzid, in the impoverished centre of the country, set fire to himself in protest at humiliation by police.
That sparked protests which rocked Tunisia and triggered a deadly clampdown.
But the protesters won: on January 14, 2011 Ben Ali fled Tunisia for Saudi Arabia where he stayed until his death.
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