Tunisia's interim prime minister says the trial in absentia of former president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, who fled to Saudi Arabia in January, will begin on June 20.

Beji Caid Essebsi told al-Jazeera television Monday that Mr. Ben Ali will be tried in a military and in a civilian court.

Tunisian authorities have been preparing several legal cases against the former president, including conspiring against the state, voluntary manslaughter and drug trafficking.

Mr. Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia after he was ousted by mass protests in January after 23 years in power. Several members of his family and some of his closest allies were detained shortly after he was forced from power.

Saudi officials have not responded to Tunisian requests to extradite the former leader and his wife, Leila Trabelsi.