Abidine

And his judgment was further questioned after he held meetings with Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s son Saif, and when he entertained the son-in-law of Tunisia’s ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali at Buckingham Palace.

Ferjani had previously been jailed under the previous administration of Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, who was overthrown as president in 2011 by the Arab Spring protests.

Protestors step on a carpet depicting ousted Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali during a demonstration to mark the third anniversary of his departure, on Jan.

The resulting uprising toppled Tunisian dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali and triggered a series of other revolutions around North Africa and the Middle East.

Tunisia's revolution began with the self-immolation of a desperate vegetable seller in December 2010, then mass protests that forced strongman ruler Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali to seek exile in Saudi Arabia and soon spread across the Arab world.

Tunisia, whose 2011 revolt toppled longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and sparked the Arab Spring uprisings, has been hailed as a model of democratisation in the Arab world, but has faced economic woes and jihadist attacks.

Across the Middle East and North Africa, several dictators fell in a row: after Tunisia’s Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia and Egypt’s of Libya was toppled in a civil war.

A similar case of self-immolation, by a street vendor lamenting unemployment, corruption and repression, led to nationwide protests heightened by social media that brought down Tunisia’s long-time President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011.

The unrest quickly spread across the country and led to the overthrow of long-time dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was also ousted after only 18 days of demonstrations, and protests soon spread in many countries of North Africa and Middle East.