In his second trial, Ben Ali, who fled to Saudi Arabia following a popular uprising in Tunisia in January, was also sentenced to a fine of 54,000 euros (£49,000).
The trial before a Tunis court had been scheduled to take place last week but was postponed due to a judges' strike.
The former strongman and his wife Leila Trabelsi had already been sentenced in their absence last month to 35 years in prison for misappropriating public funds after large sums of cash and jewellery were discovered in a police search of their palace.
In Monday's trial, Ben Ali alone was accused of harbouring drugs and weapons at his palace in the Carthage neighbourhood north of Tunis. He also faces a drug trafficking charge. » | Monday, July 04, 2011
