A TUNISIAN court yesterday sentenced former president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in absentia to 35 years in jail.

Tunisia’s former autocratic leader, whose downfall triggered uprisings in the Arab world, condemned his upcoming trial as a “shameful masquerade”, according to a statement.

The Tunisian army fired warning shots in the capital today as demonstrators marched toward the ruling party’s headquarters and government ministers quit the party in a desperate attempt to keep their jobs.

TUNISIA’S interim leadership promised a “complete break with the past” and freed political prisoners yesterday in efforts to appease street protesters who want a total purge of the old guard from a unity government.

Tunisia’s new government began releasing prisoners today and moved to track down assets stashed overseas by its deposed president and his widely disliked family.