Leila Ben Ali to break Her Long Silence

The forthcoming release of Tunisia’s ex-first lady Leila Ben Ali’s diaries would again bring the much decried former presidential couple to the center stage of public attention, local media reported yesterday.

According to local news website Business news, with the memoir, Leila Ben Ali is ready to break her long silence since the ouster of her husband and former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali early last year.

Written in French, Leila Ben Ali’s book “My Truth” is due to be released on May 24 in France, the report said.

According to its French publisher Les Editions du Moment, in the book, the former first lady recounts the various episodes of the Tunisian unrest she dubs a “coup d’etat,” and responds to the many accusations made against her family. She also reportedly speaks of the role of French secret services in Ben Ali’s departure from Tunisia, the website said.

Meanwhile, the book also contains her husband’s own version of events before and after the Tunisian unrest.

Many Tunisian internet users have already expressed their indignation concerning the controversial publication, according to Xinhua.

Ben Ali, his wife and a number of their relatives were sentenced in absentia to jail on corruption, embezzlement and drug charges. The former president also faces fresh trials for voluntary manslaughter; during the events that led to his flee in January of 2011.