Belhassen Trabelsi is a Tunisian businessman. He is the brother of Leïla Ben Ali

Leïla Ben Ali

Leïla Ben Ali , is the wife of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the former president of the Tunisian Republic. She is the current president of the Arab Women Organization and chair of the Basma Association, a charitable organization working to secure employment for the disabled. In July 2010, Mrs. Ben Ali...

, wife of former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is a Tunisian political figure who was the second President of Tunisia from 1987 to 2011. Ben Ali was appointed Prime Minister in October 1987, and he assumed the Presidency on 7 November 1987 in a bloodless coup d'état that ousted President Habib Bourguiba, who was...

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Biography

He sat on the Board of Banque de Tunisie

Banque de Tunisie

Banque de Tunisie is a bank in Tunisia. It has been listed in the Bourse de Tunis since 1990.-Overview:The Banque de Tunisie was created in 1884. It is headquartered in Tunis, Tunisia. The French bank Crédit Industriel et Commercial owns 20% of its shares.Belhassen Trabelsi, the brother of Leïla...

. He owns 65% of KoralBlue Airlines

KoralBlue Airlines

KoralBlue Airlines was an Egyptian charter airline based in Cairo. The airline operated charter flights to European countries from its base at Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport and its smaller base, Hurghada International Airport.-History:...

. He also owns the Karthago Group, including Karthago Airlines

Karthago Airlines

Karthago Airlines is a privately owned airline based in Tunis, Tunisia, operating scheduled charter flights to Europe. Its main base is Djerba-Zarzis Airport, but most of the flights are out of Tunis-Carthage International Airport.-History:...

 and Kathago Hotels. He became the CEO of Nouvelair

Nouvelair

Nouvelair Limited Company is a Tunisian airline with its registered office in Tunis, while its head office in the Dhkila Tourist Zone in Monastir, near the Hôtel Sahara Beach. The airline operates tourist charters from European cities to Tunisian holiday resorts...

 in 2008. He was a senior official in the now defunct Constitutional Democratic Rally

Constitutional Democratic Rally

The Constitutional Democratic Rally , also referred to by its French acronym RCD, formerly called Neo Destour then Socialist Destourian Party, was the governing party in Tunisia. The party was suspended by the minister of interior on February 6th awaiting a decision on its dissolution by judicial...

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Rumors were widespread about his arrest in Tunisia on January 14, 2011, as he was trying to flee Tunisia

Tunisia

Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...

 and meet with family members in Lyon

Lyon

Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. His house in Sokra, 10 miles (16.1 km) away from Tunis

Tunis

Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....

, has been looted

Looting

Looting —also referred to as sacking, plundering, despoiling, despoliation, and pillaging—is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe, such as during war, natural disaster, or rioting...

. He is currently in Montreal, Canada. On January 28, 2011, Canadian foreign affairs minister Lawrence Cannon was quoted as having said that Trabelsi was no longer welcome in Canada and was to be arrested. However, Cannon also went on to say that Trabelsi has applied for refugee status and is therefore entitled to 'due process' under Canadian law, which could take years to settle.