The recordings - obtained by BBC News Arabic Documentaries - have been forensically analysed by audio experts who found no evidence of tampering or manipulation. Ben Ali died in exile in 2019, but the BBC has also played these recordings to people who know the individuals concerned, and they believe the voices to be genuine, further supporting the authenticity of the recordings. However some of the people concerned strongly dispute their veracity.
If genuine, the recordings give an incredible insight into the change in Ben Ali's mood in the last 48 hours of his regime, as he slowly begins to grasp the true impact of protests rocking his feared police state.
The recordings - extracts of which are included below - begin on the evening of 13 January 2011. The first is a call to a close confidant, believed to be Tarak Ben Ammar, a successful media tycoon who is known for encouraging director George Lucas to film the first Star Wars movie in Tunisia. Earlier that day Ben Ali had made a televised speech to the nation, in an attempt to quash the momentum of mass demonstrations.
Widespread discontent at economic hardship and decades of autocratic rule and corruption had erupted weeks earlier after a young street vendor, Mohamed Bouazizi, set fire to himself when officials stopped him selling produce in the town of Sidi Bouzid. By 13 January about 100 people had died in the protests,, external which were now overwhelming the streets of the capital.
But Ben Ali sounds reassured when Ben Ammar appears to lavish him with praise.
"You were wonderful, this is the Ben Ali that we've been waiting for!" says Ben Ammar in the recording.
Ben Ali is self-deprecating, saying his speech lacked fluency, but his confidant reassures him.
"Not at all… It's a historic comeback. You're a man of the people. You speak their language," his friend says.
Eltaief bluntly corrects this assumption.
"No, no, no. The situation is changing rapidly and the army isn't enough," his friend tells him.
Ben Ali interrupts him to ask: "Do you advise me to come back now or not?" He has to repeat the question three more times before Eltaief properly responds.
"Things aren't good," Eltaief finally replies.
Ben Ali then makes a call to who we believe to be the chief of the army, General Rachid Ammar. Ammar doesn't appear to recognise the voice on the end of the line. "I'm the president," Ben Ali has to tell him.
Ammar reassures him that "everything is ok". Again, Ben Ali poses the same question he asked Eltaief - should he return to Tunisia now? Rachid tells him it would be better for him to "wait a while".
"When we see that you can come back, we'll let you know, Mr President," Ammar tells Ben Ali.
He calls his defence minister once more, again asking if he should return home, and this time Grira is more forthright, telling Ben Ali that he "cannot guarantee his safety" if he does so.
Just after midnight, President Ben Ali's plane lands in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He orders the pilot to prepare for his return trip, and he and his family are escorted to the King Faisal Palace Guest House.
But the pilot disobeys the order. He abandons Ben Ali and flies back to Tunisia.
Waking in Saudi Arabia the next morning, Ben Ali rings his defence minister again. Grira admits the administration is not in control of what is happening on the streets. He tells Ben Ali that there is even talk of a coup. Ben Ali dismisses this as the action of "Islamists", before once more talking about returning home.