Former Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's lawyer says he is in "critical health" and is in a critical condition and has been hospitalized in Saudi Arabia, where he has been in exile since the 2011 revolution that toppled him after 23 years of rule.

This is the first time Ben Ali's lawyer and his family have spoken publicly about his health since he fled Tunisia eight years ago.

"His daughter Halima told me he was taken to hospital," said lawyer Mounir Ben Salha. "He is suffering from a health crisis that has nothing to do with cancer. His condition is stable now."

Ben Ali "is as sick as anyone at an early age," he said, quoted by the official German news agency DPA. "His condition is rather critical but stable, and he is not in a moribund state."

Ben Salha did not give further details about the health status of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, 83.

Since his escape to Saudi Arabia, Ben Ali has not appeared in public, except for posting his pictures with his family on social media.

In 2011, a Tunis court sentenced Ben Ali to 35 years' imprisonment in absentia on charges of torture and financial corruption, and then a military court sentenced him to 20 years in prison on charges of incitement to murder and looting.

It is noteworthy that Tunisia is witnessing next Sunday early presidential elections as it continues its path towards full democracy since the popular protests that ousted Ben Ali from power and triggered the Arab Spring uprisings in the region.

First deposed
Ben Ali was the first Arab president toppled by the Arab Spring revolutions, followed by Egyptian President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak, who was forced by a popular revolution to step down on February 11, 2011.

On October 20, 2011, rebels of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi were killed after serving more than 42 years.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh forced him to step down on February 25, 2012.

On April 2, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika renounced power following mass protests against his intention to run for a fifth term.

On April 11, the Sudanese army ousted President Omar al-Bashir after protests and sit-ins against his regime.