Insider Photos from Tunisia's Ben Ali Trial

Today marks the beginning of judgment day for ousted Tunisian dictator Zine al-Abidine ben Ali.

Tunisia's interim government commenced a trial to determine the legal standing of the 23-year former ruler of the North African nation. But Ben Ali was not there.

He left Tunisia for Saudi Arabia on January 14, after the escalation of a popular movement now commonly referred to as The Jasmine Revolution.

The Saudi government has made no movements toward extradition, and the trial was held in absentia.

In February, the Tunisian Anti-Corruption Commission found 27 million dollars in cash at his palace in Sidi Bou Said, a northern suburb of Tunis.

More interesting, perhaps, is that the commission is trying Ben Ali for drug possession.

At Ben Ali's presidential palace in Carthage, a Tunisian town known for Roman its ruins, authorities report that they found a stash of unspecified narcotics, rumored to be hashish. 2 kilograms.

Meanwhile, unemployment among Tunisian youth is reported by various sources to have hovered around 30 percent before the self-immolation of Mohammed Bouazizi and the beginning of the Tunisian revolution that shook Egypt and then the entire Arab world.

The Tunisian Web community's sentiments about Ben Ali haven't changed much since his January 14 departure.

This popular home video of Ben Ali visiting the United States in luxury has evoked feelings of hatred from those who remember his regime most intimately.

Ben Ali has denied all charges, saying that he is the victim of political instability and revolutionary fervor.