- Zine el Abidine Ben Ali was ousted in the first Arab Spring uprising
- He faces charges of ordering snipers to shoot protesters
- He fled the country in January of last year
- He has already been convicted in absentia of other charges
Tunis, Tunisia (CNN) -- Tunisian ex-President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, who was ousted in the first uprising of last year's Arab Spring, faces a military tribunal Tuesday for his alleged role in the death of protesters in January 2011.
Ben Ali, who fled the country, is being tried in absentia along with dozens of former senior officials.
The trial will focus on who gave orders for snipers to shoot protesters, an emotionally charged question in the north African country.
The former president has already been tried and convicted in absentia for his role in a 1991 case in which 17 servicemen were accused of plotting a coup against his regime, the agency Tunis Afrique Presse said in November.
Post-Arab Spring outlook 
Tunisian economic outlook A Tunisian military court sentenced him to five years in prison, the state-run Tunisian News Agency said November 30.
The defense plans to appeal, it added.
Egypt's former president, Hosni Mubarak, is on trial in his own country over the killing of protesters during the urprising that forced him from power weeks after Ben Ali fled Tunisia.
Source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_world/~3/_uVsmrqIhqQ/index.html
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