(AhlulBayt News Agency) - Justice Minister Lazhar Karoui Chebbi said on Wednesday that his country issued an arrest warrant against Ben Ali, adding that former leader and his wife were being sought for "illegal acquisition" of assets and "illicit transfers of funds abroad".
"The number of prisoners killed during recent events is 71," Chebbi told reporters. "Among them 48 were killed in a fire in a prison in Monastir" on January 15 -- the day after Ben Ali's downfall, the minister said.
Meanwhile, riot police tear-gassed protesters who have been rallying in the main government quarter in Tunis for four days after some of them tried to force a barrier on Wednesday, as security forces sealed off the area with barbed wire.
Protesters in Tunis have kept up daily protests, calling on the cabinet put in place after the ouster of Ben Ali to quit.
"Down with the government," the protesters chanted at the rally on Wednesday, which defied a curfew and a ban on public assemblies.
This government is from November 7" -- the date Ben Ali came to power in 1987.
Many of the protesters arrived on Sunday from impoverished regions in central Tunisia where social protests against Ben Ali began last month.
The government has announced economic aid for the regions and compensation for the families of dozens of people killed by security forces.
The main UGTT trade union, which has led opposition to the new government, said a general strike was underway in Tunisia's second city, Sfax.
For his part, United States President Barack Obama hailed the "will of the people" in Tunisia.
In his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, Obama said that in Tunisia "the will of the people proved more powerful than the writ of a dictator.”
"And tonight, let us be clear: the United States of America stands with the people of Tunisia, and supports the democratic aspirations of all people."
Obama’s comments came after thousands took to the streets in Egypt to call for an uprising similar to Tunisia's in protests in which four people were killed.
The Egyptian demonstrations were the biggest protests since riots over bread subsidies shook the Arab world's most populous nation in 1977.
An Egyptian opposition group called for a second day of protests Wednesday.
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