Couscous red, spicy sauce. Couscous in Tunisia is served on every occasion; it is also served in some regions (mostly during Ramadan), sweetened as a dessert called masfouf. In Libya, it is mostly served with meat, specifically mostly lamb, but also camel, and very rarely beef, in Tripoli and the western parts of Libya, but not during official ceremonies or weddings. Another way to eat couscous is as a dessert; it is prepared with dates, sesame, and pure honey, and locally referred to as "maghrood". Couscous is also very popular in France, where it is now considered a traditional dish, and
Couscous connection was found guilty "in absentia" and sentenced to ten years imprisonment. As part of the same case 23 other gang members, mostly Tunisian, were sentenced to various punishments. On 1 December 1992 Ben Ali's French lawyer met his client in Tunis. The lawyer gave a press conference in which he claimed there was no evidence that Ben Ali deserved the sentence. He said the conviction was due to political manipulation. He blamed Islamic fundamentalists for concocting the charges in an effort to blacken the family name. Mezri Haddad signed an article in "Libération" in 1992 about the "Couscous connection". According