Ben Ali-Era Strongman Freed in Tunisia

A former interior minister under Tunisia's ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, jailed for the repression of anti-government protests, was freed from prison on Thursday, his lawyer said.

"Rafik Belhaj Kacem left prison today. He has served the whole of his sentence," Abeda Kefi told Agence France Presse, adding the ex-minister was sick and taken to a clinic.

A prison service official, asking not to be named, confirmed the release of Kacem, imprisoned since late January 2011.

The former Ben Ali regime strongman was sentenced to a lengthy prison term for "premeditated murder".

But the sentence was commuted in April to a three-year term, provoking angry protests by families of victims of the repression.

According to an official tally, more than 300 people were killed and hundreds injured in the crackdown by security forces against popular protests which led to Ben Ali's ouster.