Auctions of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was the second President of Tunisia from 1987 to 2011. Ben Ali assumed power on 7 November 1987 in a bloodless coup d'état that ousted President Habib Bourguiba. On 14 January 2011, following a month of protests against his rule, he was forced to flee to Saudi Arabia along with his wife Leïla Ben Ali. The interim Tunisian government charged him for money laundering and drugs trafficking. A Tunisian court sentenced Ben Ali and his wife in absentia to 35 years in prison on charges of theft.

Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa and is the smallest country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east.

Click to enlarge photos.

Among the highlights of the sale were the cars, which included a Lamborghini Gallardo LP 460, a Bentley Continental sports car, an armoured Cadillac and a Maybach 62. Suits belonging to the toppled despot changed hands for 3,000 euros each, while coats belonging to his wife, who was notorious for her expensive tastes, fetched as much as 4,000 euros each.