Amnesty International submitted oral statements as part of the review of each country’s human rights record. The organization urged Algeria to fully respect the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly as well as women’s rights, and called for the Algerian authorities to ratify key international human rights treaties. 

Amnesty welcomed Morocco’s support for prisoners’ rights recommendations, yet regretted the country’s decision not to accept key recommendations on protecting the rights of women, LGBTI people, and Sahrawi prisoners.

At precisely the same time as the UN Human Rights Council is reviewing Algeria’s human rights record, the authorities continue to crack down on activists and journalists

Amna Guellali, Amnesty International

“At precisely the same time as the UN Human Rights Council is reviewing Algeria’s human rights record, the authorities continue to crack down on activists and journalists, with an unjust 5-year prison sentence against journalist Ihsane El Kadi just this week. To signal that they are taking the UPR process seriously, the Algerian authorities should immediately release all imprisoned journalists,” said Amna Guellali, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“Morocco accepted a recommendation to protect the rights of migrants, yet it has been almost a year since 37 people were killed at the border of Melilla — and 77 people remain missing. The Moroccan authorities must now follow up on their promises and provide justice to victims. They should urgently carry out independent investigations and offer meaningful reparations. It is not enough to make these commitments in the UPR if they do not follow through with action.” 

Persecution of civil society in Algeria

Following Algeria’s UPR on 27 March 2023, Amnesty International remains deeply concerned by the continuing prosecution and arbitrary detention of hundreds of state critics, civil society activists, human rights defenders and journalists. Over the past two years, the Algerian authorities have prosecuted, arrested or detained at least 11 other journalists and media workers.

The organization welcomes Algeria’s commitment to amend its repressive law on public meetings and demonstrations, but regrets that the authorities rejected recommendations on amending overly broad provisions in the country’s Penal Code that penalize those who peacefully exercise their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. The organization also welcomed Algeria’s acceptance of the recommendation to amend the provision which excuses rapists who marry their victims. 

However, they note that Algeria retains several other Penal and Family Code provisions which discriminate based on gender and sexuality, and which are contrary to international human rights standards. These include Article 338 of the Penal Code, which criminalizes “homosexual acts” and Article 66 of the Family Code, which stipulates that a mother who remarries after divorce automatically loses custody of her children. 

Marital rape and LGBTI discrimination in Morocco

On 24 March 2023, Morocco accepted some recommendations from the UPR on promoting gender equality and combating violence against women, but rejected recommendations to criminalize marital rape and guarantee equality in inheritance. The Moroccan authorities also rejected recommendations on decriminalizing consensual sexual relations between adults of the same sex and introducing measures to combat discrimination against LGBTI people.

Morocco needs to do far, far more to align rights protections with international standards.

Amna Guellali.

“Morocco’s approach to sexual rights remains deeply flawed— marital rape is legal whereas consensual sex in extra-marital relations or between same-sex adults is still criminalized. Morocco needs to do far, far more to align rights protections with international standards.” said Amna Guellali.

Morocco accepted recommendations to consider abolishing the death penalty, yet rejected recommendations to actually do so. The country did, however, accept recommendations to strengthen the protection of migrants’ rights.

For further information, see the detailed oral statements Amnesty International submitted to the UPR on both Algeria and Morocco.

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The organization called for the release of journalist Ihsane El Kadi, sentenced on 2 April by the Tribunal of Sidi M’hamed in Algiers to five years in prison, of which two years were suspended on unfounded charges related to receiving funds for “political propaganda” and “to harm the security of the state.” Shortly before his arrest on 24 December, Ihsane El Kadi had published an analysis about the next presidential elections in Algeria in 2024 which was critical of the role of the Algerian army.

“Ihsane El Kadi is just the latest journalist to be targeted by the Algerian authorities amid their unrelenting assault on independent media. The authorities are taking extreme steps to stifle critical voices, even though Algeria’s constitution protects the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of the press,” said Amna Guellali, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“In recent months, a court sentenced an Algerian journalist to death in absentia on espionage charges and at least five others are facing prosecution on unfounded charges, most of which are related to “spreading fake news”. The authorities have also shut down at least three media outlets after being accused of broadcasting online without authorization. All journalists jailed solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression, including those held on farcical charges of spreading ‘fake news’, must be immediately and unconditionally released.”

Plainclothes security officials had arrested El Kadi shortly after midnight on 24 December at his home in Zemmouri, a coastal town 40 km east of Algiers, and later that day led him in handcuffs to the offices of his online media outlets Radio M and Maghreb Emergent. They ordered the staff to leave, seized computers and other materials and sealed the doors. The Tribunal of Sidi M’hamed suspended two of the five-year sentence, which was accompanied by a fine of 700 000 Algerian dinars (around 5156 USD).

Targeting of independent journalists

Over the past two years, the Algerian authorities have prosecuted, arrested or detained at least 11 other journalists and media workers.

In one of the most extreme cases, in October 2022, a court in Algiers sentenced journalist Abdou Semmar to death on charges of spying and “spreading false information that might harm the national security or public order”, in relation to his online media outlet Algérie Part. The court sentenced Semmar, who lives as a refugee in France, in absentia and without legal representation. After sentencing Semmar, the judge issued an international arrest warrant against him. Semmar, who did not have access to the file, believes the charges stem from an investigation he carried out in 2020 into Sonatrach, the national oil and gas company.

The authorities are taking extreme steps to stifle critical voices, even though Algeria’s constitution protects the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

Amna Guellali, Amnesty International

On 7 February 2023, a court in Boumerdes sentenced Farid Herbi, a journalist and founder of online media outlet Tout sur Boumerdes, to three years in prison and a fine for “spreading false information that might harm the national security or public order”. Herbi had been critical of the governor’s way of handling development projects in the province of Boumerdes, east of Algeria.

On 8 February, gendarmerie officers detained Mustapha Bendjamaa, editor-in-chief of Le Provincial, an independent Algerian newspaper, on charges related to “receiving foreign funds”, for money he got to help the family of a detainee, based on Article 95 bis of the Penal Code and “publishing classified documents” based on Article 38 of the Law on protecting information and administrative documents, which provides for up to ten years in jail. The latter charge stems solely from private conversations on his phone that the authorities confiscated following his arrest, and is related to information he received about a whistle-blower from a private company.

On 4 February, journalist Saad Bouakba was arrested and held in custody for two days. A court in Algiers provisionally released him on 6 February but issued a travel ban against him and ordered him to appear before the court every two weeks. He was arrested after publishing on Facebook criticism of local government projects. In another case, an appeals court in Algiers acquitted Zoheir Abderkane, a journalist and founder of a Facebook page called Alternews, on 16 January. However, the prosecutor appealed the court’s decision, and he still faces up to three years in prison and a fine.

Media outlets shuttered

After shutting down El Kadi’s two media outlets in December 2022, the authorities also launched a civil lawsuit against Interface Médias, the parent company of the two outlets, for “exploiting an audiovisual communication service without authorization”. On 2 April, the Tribunal of Sidi M’hamed ordered the dissolution of the company “Interface Media” and that it pays for damages to the Algerian audiovisual regulatory body a fine of 10 million dinars (around 73 862 USD).

On 15 November 2022, Algeria’s official media agency reported that the authority for the regulation of audiovisual media decided to close the Al Adjawaa TV channel because it “noted violations of professional ethics, related to the disrespect of the specificities of Algerian society and a violation of public morals”. According to media reports, this decision was linked to the channel broadcasting a scene from a movie in which people kissed in their underwear.

“Using spurious laws as a way to silence journalism is completely unacceptable, the media in Algeria should be free to exercise their right to freedom of expression as protected by international law,” added Amna Guellali.

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The Administrative Court of Algiers dissolved the LADDH following a complaint filed by the Interior Ministry on June 29, 2022, the organization said on January 20, 2023, after it learned of the judgment by finding it on the internet. The LADDH, which said it had been unaware of the judicial proceedings, including the complaint, is the most recent organization targeted by the authorities’ campaign to neutralize independent civil society organizations.

“The Algerian authorities seem determined to shut down any independent activity that would shed light on human rights violations,” said Eric Goldstein, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch.” In that context, it was only a matter of time before they went after the oldest and most established national human rights organization of them all.”

The six-page court judgment mentioned an initial Interior Ministry petition, dated 4 May 2022, seeking the dissolution of the League on the grounds that the LADDH had “several branches claiming its name and legal legitimacy” in breach of article 48 of  Law 90-31 on Associations, issued in 1990 and pertaining to an association’s bylaws.

The reference was to past splits within the League and to the law on associations in force at the time. Such splits cannot be used to justify violating the right to freedom of association by shutting down the League, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said. The judgment also said that the group’s “activities did not conform to its purposes” set forth in its bylaws.

The LADDH is the oldest independent human rights organization in Algeria. Founded in 1985 and officially registered in 1989, the League has continuously played a leading role in advocating for human rights and democracy. Since 2019, it took a prominent role in denouncing the crackdown on the Hirak protest movement. 

Algeria is rapidly plunging ever deeper into a human rights crisis where there is virtually no more space for human rights work and activities.

Amna Guellali, Amnesty International

On 30 January, authorities closed the House of Human and Citizen’s Rights in Tizi Ouzou, since 1990 an LADDH affiliate that included a library, a documentation centre, and other activities. On 23 January, the authorities sealed the LADDH’s Centre for Documenting Human Rights (CDDH) in Bejaia, under an order by the governor of Bejaia, citing the judgment dissolving the League. The Bejaia office, among the group’s most active, organized meetings and training focused on civil rights for the public and activists. It also provided legal aid and advice on issues ranging from domestic violence to job terminations.

In its decision, the court justified the League’s dissolution by saying that it undertook “suspicious activities” such as “addressing in its publications the issue of illegal migration,” “organizing demonstrations” before courts and “publishing documents and statements on social media accusing the authorities of repression of protests.” The court also found that the League had violated the law in failing to duly notify authorities about internal changes and activities as well as its collaboration with foreign and international organizations.

The judgment contends that the LADDH violated articles 18, 19 and 23 of the 2012 Law 12-06 on Associations. Articles 18 and 19 require associations to inform the authorities about changes in their status and in their internal organization as well as to submit annual activity and financial reports. Article 23 provides that cooperation with international and foreign associations must “respect national constants and values” and “requires prior approval of relevant authorities.” 

The accusations against the group include “maintaining relations with organizations in Libya and Tunisia,” sending “reports and erroneous information to UN entities,” and meeting with the International Federation for Human Rights, Euromed Rights, and the Maghreb Coordination of Human Rights Organizations, groups the authorities deem to be “hostile to Algeria and under the influence of the Moroccan-Zionist lobby and members of the French left in the European Parliament.” 

The Law on Associations of 2012 is heavily restrictive and does not conform with international standards on freedom of association. Article 2 states the objectives of an association “must fit within the general interest and not be contrary to the national foundations and values or the public order and good morals.” Such provisions are too vaguely worded to allow associations to reasonably predict whether any of its activities amount to a crime. The overly-broad and vague provisions in the law threaten the exercise of the rights to freedom of expression and of association, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said. 

The legal provisions used to dissolve LADDH are incompatible with the right to freedom of association protected under international and African human rights law and standards. Associations should be free to determine their statutes and activities and make decisions without government interference and should not face dissolution for their legal and peaceful activities. Civil society organizations should be free to communicate with foreign non-governmental organizations, intergovernmental organizations, and international human rights bodies.

On 6 December 2022, the police in Bejaia prevented the city’s section of the League from hosting the 11th edition of its Human Rights Forum. Said Salhi, vice-president of the LADDH said that the police informed LADDH staff members that the governor had banned the forum, including its activities.

Vicious clampdown on civil society organizations

The authorities have been cracking down on other major associations. In October 2021, a court dissolved Youth Action Rally (known by its French name, Rassemblement Action Jeunesse, or RAJ), citing non-compliance with the law and creating chaos and disturbing the public order. RAJ appealed the decision to the State Council, the country’s highest administrative court.  Its verdict was postponed to February 23, 2023.  

Caritas, a Catholic Church charity, announced its shutdown on September 25, 2022, after authorities criticized it for providing medical assistance and services to migrants, media reported. Founded in 1962, Caritas offered a variety of activities and charity services in Algiers. 

In May 2022, the Oran governor petitioned a court to dissolve Santé Sidi Houari (SDH), an association focused on rehabilitating the cultural heritage of the city of Oran.  However, the Oran administrative court ruled against the petition in December.

The cultural association SOS Bab El-Oued in Algiers suspended its activities after security forces searched its office and confiscated materials in April 2021. The president of this well-known local association, Nacer Meghnine, was sentenced to one year in prison for “harming the national interest” and “incitement to an unarmed gathering” related to the association’s activities and its members’ participation in the Hirak movement.  

The right to freedom of association is guaranteed in article 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and article 10 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, both instruments ratified by Algeria. Associations should be free to determine their bylaws and conduct activities without state interference. The UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders clearly establishes the right of civil society organizations to seek, obtain and disseminate ideas and information; to advocate for human rights; to engage in governance and the conduct of public affairs; to access and communicate with international human rights bodies; and to submit proposals for policy and legislative reform at the local, national and international levels, among others.

Article 53 of Algeria’s constitution also guarantees the right to freedom of association, allowing associations to form legally on the basis of a simple declaration.

“Algeria is rapidly plunging ever deeper into a human rights crisis where there is virtually no more space for human rights work and activities,” said Amna Guellali, Amnesty International’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa. “The authorities’ dismantling of the oldest human rights group in the country will go down in history as a shameful act that must be reversed immediately.”

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On 15 January, a judge in the Court of Sidi M’hamed in Algiers renewed the decision to hold him in pre-trial detention. No lawyers from his defence team were present at that time to challenge the lawfulness of El Kadi’s imprisonment as the Court did not inform them that the appeal hearing, initially scheduled for 18 January, was moved to an earlier date.

“El Kadi’s unjustified detention by the Algerian authorities is a grave injustice compounded by the violation of his fair trial rights. It is yet another example of their ruthless campaign to silence voices of dissent through arbitrary detention and the closure of media outlets,” said Amna Guellali, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“The fact that El Kadi’s pre-trial detention has been renewed without the presence of his defence team, and that the court did not inform them of the change in hearing date, is a blatant disregard for his right to a fair trial. The authorities must release him immediately and allow the reopening of his outlets without censorship of critical content.”

Plainclothes security officials arrested El Kadi shortly after midnight on 24 December at his home in Zemmouri, a coastal town 40 km east of Algiers, and later that day led him in handcuffs to the offices of his online media outlets Radio M and Maghreb Emergent. They ordered the staff to leave, seized computers and other materials and sealed the doors.

El Kadi’s unjustified detention by the Algerian authorities is a grave injustice compounded by the violation of his fair trial rights.

Amna Guellali, Amnesty International

A member of Ihsane El Kadi’s family, who asked to remain anonymous, told Amnesty International that security officers did not produce a warrant before the arrest, or inform him of the allegations on which he was being arrested. Security officers then held Ihsane El Kadi for five days, and he was interrogated about his publications in the Antar barracks in Algiers, which are under the supervision of the General Directorate of Interior Security.

On 29 December, an investigative judge at the first instance Tribunal of Sidi M’hamed in Algiers ordered the detention of Ihsane El Kadi at El Harrach prison.  A prosecutor charged him with several offences including “receiving funds, a donation or a benefit that could harm the security of the State”, “receiving foreign funds for political propaganda”, and “distributing, selling, exposing for propaganda, leaflets, newsletters and flyers with the aim of harming the national interest” under articles 95 bis, 95 and 96 of the Penal Code, respectively.

The judge also accused the journalist based on Ordinance 77-3 dating back to 1977, which requires prior authorization from the governor or the Minister of Interior for fundraising initiatives. 

A few days before his arrest Ihsane El Kadi published an analysis of the Algerian political situation, outlining the role of the Algerian army in presidential elections.

Ihsane El Kadi was convicted on 25 December to a yet to be applied sentence of six months in jail and a fine for “publishing false information” related to an article published on 23 March 2021 defending the role in the Hirak of unregistered political group Rachad, whom the authorities classified as terrorist. On several occasions, law enforcement officials have summoned Ihsane El Kadi to the Antar facility to interrogate him about his work. 

The prosecution of El Kadi comes on the heels of other cases of harassment, intimidation, and unlawful imprisonment of journalists in Algeria. Over the past two years, authorities arrested, summoned or convicted at least 11 other journalists.

“It is shocking and shameful to see the Algerian authorities penalizing press freedom and the right to freedom of expression under the pretext of national security. Ihsane El Kadi and all journalists should be able to report on matters related to the state freely, even when it is critical of those in power,” said Amna Guellali.

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Of the 54, who were sentenced to death in mass proceedings in November 2022, five were convicted in their absence, one of whom was a woman. According to the decision from the chamber of accusation of the Court of Algiers, reviewed by Amnesty International, at least six were prosecuted due to their association with the Movement for the self determination of Kabylie (MAK), a political group labelled as a “terrorist” organization by the Algerian authorities in June 2021. Five told the court they were subjected to torture or ill-treatment while in detention.

“By resorting to the death penalty in mass proceedings following unfair trials, the Algerian authorities not only reveal their utter disregard for human life, but also send a chilling message about how justice is delivered in Algeria today,” said Amna Guellali, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“Meting out the death penalty is never justifiable, no matter what offence was committed. These callous death sentences and convictions must be urgently overturned. All allegations of torture or other ill-treatment must also be promptly investigated, and retrials ordered for all those convicted in their absence or prosecuted over their political affiliations.”

Rampant fair trial violations

The 54 individuals were convicted and sentenced to death on various charges — including murder, terrorism and setting fires — over the lynching of activist Djamel Ben Smail in Tizi Ouzou, a wilaya in the east of Algeria, on 11 August 2021, the lighting of fires the same month in Kabylie in north-east Algeria, which resulted in the deaths of at least 90 people as well as their membership in MAK. They were also accused of “torture and incitement to torture”, “violently assaulting law enforcement officers” and “dissemination of hate speech and discrimination”.

At least 62 others faced similar charges in the trial bringing the total number of prosecutions in this case to 116. On 24 November 2022, the judge acquitted 17 defendants, yet 28 were sentenced to between two and 10 years in prison. Their lawyers have appealed the verdict.

Meting out the death penalty is never justifiable, no matter what offence was committed.

Amna Guellali, Amnesty International

In at least two cases the court did not notify the defendants of the charges or the time and place of the trial, violating international fair trial standards.

Other fair trial violations include nine witnesses being absent in the trial that took place behind closed doors between 15 and 24 November, in which the families of victims of the events of August 2021 were not present.

Electrocution and rape threats in custody

According to one lawyer, who asked to remain anonymous citing the sensitivity of the issue, at least five of those convicted told the judge that their statements were extracted under duress. Defendant Mohamed Laaskri said that law enforcement officers electrocuted him, attempted to waterboard him, and threatened him with rape while he was in custody. The judge responded by saying that it was the responsibility of the defendant to file a complaint before the prosecutor. 

Two lawyers also said that at least four defendants sentenced to death in their absence were not in Algeria when the alleged crimes took place. Aksel Bellabbaci, a top executive of MAK who lives in France, said he has not visited Algeria since August 2019. During interrogation, several detainees said Bellabbaci is a contact person for the organization, yet the prosecution could not prove his involvement in the lynching.

Mourad Itim, who lives and works in Canada as the manager of webcast TV Taqvaylit TV, having formerly worked as a coordinator for MAK in North America, said he has not visited Algeria since 2016. He believes his conviction stems from his efforts to peacefully exercise his right to freedom of expression by covering the events of August 2021.

“It is absolutely disgraceful that the Algerian authorities are using the lynching incident as a tool to prosecute state critics and members of the MAK political group. This wilful repression is a grave violation not only of the rights to freedom of expression and association, but also the right to life,” said Amna Guellali.

Background

Since April 2021, the Algerian authorities have extensively resorted to using Article 87 bis of the country’s Penal Code to prosecute activists, human rights defenders and journalists over “crimes” related to “terrorism”.

Algeria has not carried out any executions since 1993. The country, however, is yet to abolish the death penalty or sign and ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty.

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Judicial authorities in Tlemcen ordered the opening of an investigation in November, however in at least three cases documented by Amnesty International, investigations into human rights violations in Algeria such as the suspicious deaths in custody or torture of activists at the hands of the police have not resulted in justice and reparations for the victims.

“Bouziza’s family and lawyer looked desperately for him for weeks while the authorities withheld information about his exact whereabouts. This precedent is extremely worrying. Algerian authorities should shed the light on what happened to Bouziza and bring those responsible for his enforced disappearance to justice,” said Amna Guellali, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“This incident is part of a wider pattern of human rights violations in Algeria, where hundreds of activists and protesters have been arbitrarily detained, and dozens were subjected to torture and other ill treatment at the hands of the security forces. Yet security forces responsible for these violations continue to enjoy impunity.”

On 19 October, Bouziza was detained by security forces at his home in Tlemcen, a city in the West of Algeria. Bouziza’s family and lawyers made multiple attempts to locate him, in Tlemcen, Algiers, and Blida, but police in Tlemcen denied that he was detained. Judicial authorities in three cities denied that he had been charged or was scheduled to appear before their courts. His family and lawyers could not identify his whereabouts or call or visit him.

On 6 November, his lawyer filed a complaint before the Court of Tlemcen asking them to investigate his client’s enforced disappearance. It was only after that, on 8 November that lawyers who went to the Court of Boufarik confirmed to Bouziza’s lawyer in Tlemcen that he appeared before the court of Boufarik on 24 October and that he was detained in Hay El Darwich Prison in Blida, a place more than 470 kilometres away from where the activist and his family live. On 8 November, the Prosecutor General of the Tlemcen Court heard Bouziza’s family members’ testimony about the complaint filed by the defence team. On 10 November, Bouziza received his first prison visit by his brother and mother.

Bouziza’s lawyers suspect he is held on terrorism-related charges for posts he made on social media about the arrests and trials of other activists in the country.

Since April 2021, Algerian authorities have extensively resorted to the use of the counterterrorism provisions in the Penal Code to prosecute activists and human rights defenders who voice dissenting opinions online or participate in peaceful protests.

Background

In the past years, Algeria has not effectively investigated human rights violations in police custody, including cases of death and ill-treatment and torture. In March 2021, a judge in El Bayadh Court refused to open an investigation into torture claims of activist Ayoub Chahetou, who said he was raped by police officers. Until today, authorities did not make public the results of the investigations opened into the deaths in custody of peaceful protester Ramzi Yettou and human rights defender Kameleddine Fekhar, in April and May 2019 respectively.

Bouziza, 25, has been an activist in the Hirak movement and regularly posts on his social media accounts about the arrests and trials of activists in Algeria. In April 2022, Bouziza, along with 12 others, was convicted in absentia and handed a one-year prison sentence and a fine for “inciting an unarmed gathering” after the 13 individuals took part in a demonstration in the streets of Tlemcen on 19 March 2021.

In November 2021, he was given a three-year sentence for “insulting the President”, “offending a public body”, “publishing fake news that might harm public security” and “inciting an unarmed gathering” after he published five online posts, some criticizing Algeria’s President and secret services and one calling for protests to resume in the streets. His sentence was reduced on appeal and he was released in February.

Under Algerian law, those arrested on terrorism charges can be held in police custody for a maximum of 12 days, and must be allowed to communicate with, and be visited by, their family.

Algeria is yet to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Nonetheless, the prohibition of enforced disappearance is provided for in a number of international instruments binding on Algeria, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

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“It is a travesty of justice that these individuals are being detained or prosecuted over their religious beliefs,” said Amna Guellali, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa. “They should be allowed to peacefully practice their religion without risking intimidation or reprisals from the authorities.”

Three members of the religion continue to be held in detention despite their lawyers appealing for their release on three separate occasions. The court rejected the lawyers’ requests on the grounds that the investigation is ongoing.

It is a travesty of justice that these individuals are being detained or prosecuted over their religious beliefs.

Amna Guellali, Amnesty International

In an interview with Amnesty International before his arrest and detention, Redouane Foufa, the group’s coordinator in Bejaia, said that around 30 soldiers had previously searched the house he shares with other members of the group, and seized ID cards, passports, phones and laptops.

Yasmine Guissi, Redouane Foufa’s niece, told Amnesty International: “In the beginning, the families were hopeful. We were thinking they would be released, but it kept dragging on and now it is really hard. Their kids keep asking, ‘where is baba?’ The kids are not allowed to go to visit them, and anyway the family can only visit once every two weeks.”

Souhila Benkaddour, the wife of Cherif Mohamed Ali, another detained member of the group, discovered she was pregnant after her husband was detained, yet was unable to tell him the news. Cherif found out two weeks later from his lawyer.

She told Amnesty International: “When I found out that I was pregnant, after four years of waiting, I kept the images of our baby in my womb from the first scan to show to my husband when he got out of prison.…  Today I am living another joy while he is absent – I found out the gender of our newborn boy. God willing, my husband will be present with me during the birth.”

Background

The 18 members of the Ahmadi group face trial at the first instance court in Bejaia on 6 September, having been charged under Article 46 of the Law on Associations and Article 144 bis 2 of the Algerian Penal Code.

The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light was established in 1993. The religious group, which has around 70 active members in Algeria, follows the teachings of Imam Mahdi and venerates Imam Ahmed al-Hassan as its divine guide. Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Algeria has ratified, governments must ensure the right to freedom of religion, thought, and conscience of everyone under their jurisdiction, and in particular to religious minorities. This right includes the freedom to exercise the religion or belief of one’s choice publicly or privately, alone or with others.

However, in 2006, Algeria passed Decree 06-03 which introduced restrictions on the exercise of religions other than Islam. Between 2017 and 2022, Algerian authorities used both this Decree and the Penal Code to prosecute hundreds of non-Sunni believers and to close several Protestant churches.

Algeria’s new Constitution, adopted in November 2020, dropped freedom of religion and belief from the Rights and freedoms chapter, and only upheld “freedom to practice religion” while stating that it “must be exercised in respect of the law.”

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In May 2022, local watchdogs reported that at least 266 activists and protesters are languishing in Algerian prisons solely for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly; the authorities must urgently drop all charges against them.

Many protesters are being held in pretrial detention for excessively long periods of time. Others have been handed sentences of up to five years on overly broad, trumped-up charges such as “harming” national security, “undermining national unity”, “offending” public officials, “inciting unarmed gatherings”, spreading fake news, and terrorism.

“Sixty years after Algeria was recognized as an independent nation, basic freedoms and human rights are still being overlooked, trampled upon or actively curtailed,” said Amna Guellali, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“The unjustified detention of activists and protestors must end. It is shameful that the Algerian authorities continue to the use of overly broad and repressive laws to prosecute individuals solely for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly.”

On 24 April 2022, Hakim Debbazi, a Hirak detainee, died in custody under unclear circumstances. Debbazi is a 55-year-old father of three children. He had been held in pretrial detention since February 2022 after sharing a Facebook post from another page that called for a protest to mark the third anniversary of the Hirak movement. He was prosecuted for “inciting an unarmed gathering”, “offending public officials” and publishing content that might “harm the national interest”. The court rejected a request for his provisional release from his lawyers, but offered no explanation for the refusal. 

Zakiya Sadeg, Debbazi’s aunt and lawyer, told Amnesty International that he had informed his wife during a visit in April that he was suffering from chest pains and breathing difficulties. He also said he was being held in a small, smoke-filled room that lacked ventilation. Almost one month after Debbazi’s death, Algeria’s Minister of Justice said, citing an autopsy report, that he had died of natural causes.

The unjustified detention of activists and protestors must end.

Amna Guellali, Amnesty International

Out of all cases documented by Amnesty International, at least four detainees have faced additional trials while in prison over charges related to expressing state criticism either online or offline. On 8 June 2020, environmental activist Mohad Gasmi was arrested and later sentenced to five years in prison over a Facebook post that was deemed by the authorities as “glorifying terrorism.” While in prison, he was prosecuted on additional charges related to his participation in environmental activism abroad and communicating with activists online. He was handed an additional three-year sentence.

Journalist Merzoug Touati was also handed an additional prison term while serving his initial one-year sentence for “inciting an unarmed gathering” and publishing content that “undermines national unity”. On 29 May 2022, he was sentenced to one more year in prison and fined $350 USD in a separate case under the same charges. Touati was eventually released on 20 June following a presidential pardon. Charges against him have not been dropped. He received yet another sentence of a year in prison and a fine of $342 USD on 28 June 2022. The latest sentence is the fourth against him in 2022.

After the Hirak protest movement was halted due to Covid-19 in 2020, the Algerian authorities escalated their repression of peaceful dissent. The growing suppression of state critics was not limited to Algerians within the country, but also targeted several individuals residing abroad or seeking refuge overseas.

Earlier this year, one refugee was abducted in Tunisia before being forcibly returned to Algeria and prosecuted on at least 10 charges including “participation in a terrorist organization” for his alleged links to the Movement for the self-determination of Kabylie. 

Also, at least two asylum seekers were deported over their alleged links with unauthorized organizations, while at least three dual nationals residing in Canada were arbitrarily arrested or interrogated upon arrival in Algeria, and then prevented from exiting the country for several weeks or months.

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Arslane is being tried over charges stemming from his defence of political activists while lawyers Abdelkader Chohra and Yassine Khlifi are being tried for protesting the suspicious death in custody of an activist. All three are currently in pretrial detention pending their trial.

“The authorities’ wrongful arrest and prosecution of these lawyers send the chilling message that defending political prisoners is not tolerated in Algeria,” said Amna Guellali, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“Algeria is obligated to protect people’s right to a fair trial, which cannot be done without proper legal representation. Lawyers must be permitted to practise their profession and express themselves without fear of arrest and intimidation.”

Abderraouf Arslane was detained on 26 May 2021 in the Court of Tebessa, where he was defending three activists from the Hirak, the mass protest movement that has called for political change in Algeria since 2019. He was held in pre-trial detention amid accusations of ties with the unregistered political movement Rachad and the expression of his opinions online, and charged with “spreading fake news” and terrorist-related offences. His first trial session is scheduled for 15 June 2022, which is more than one year after his arrest.

Abdelkader Chohra was detained by security forces on 14 May 2022 while participating in a peaceful gathering outside Al Kliaa prison in Tipaza to protest the suspicious death of activist Hakim Debbazi, who died while being held in pre-trial detention.

Yacine Khlifi was summoned by the Algiers police force on 31 May 2022. One of his lawyers, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, told Amnesty International that he attended the interrogation at the police which revolved around a video Khlifi had published talking about the suspicious death of Hakim Debbazi. In the video, Khlifi also criticized the Minister of Justice for the inadequate communication around Hakim Debbazi’s death and suggested that two other inmates have died in suspicious circumstances in Chlef prison during the previous two weeks.

Both Chohra and Khlifi are detained under charges of “spreading fake news” and “incitement to unarmed gathering.”

“Algerian authorities have over the past year jailed at least two additional lawyers for their work in attempting to uncover the truth around suspicious deaths in prisons, which shows how rampant repression has become in Algeria,” said Amna Guellali.

Background 

Legal representation is fundamental to the right to a fair trial, which is enshrined in numerous treaties binding on Algeria, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on human and peoples’ rights. According to the United Nation’s Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, governments should ensure lawyers “are able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference” and they should also “not be identified with their clients or their clients’ causes as a result of discharging their functions”.

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The authorities must also drop all charges against 15 other members of the group who are currently released pending investigation.

On 6 June 2022, the First Instance Tribunal in Bejaia charged 18 people who identify as members of the Ahmadi religious group with ‘participation in an unauthorized group’ and ‘denigrating Islam’, under Article 46 of the Law on Associations and Article 144 bis 2 of the Algerian Penal Code, respectively. The judge ordered the immediate detention of three members and released the others pending further investigation. Their lawyer appealed this decision on 8 June.

“The Algerian authorities have legal obligations to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the right to freedom of religion of everyone in the country which includes those with religious beliefs that are different to the majority. It is outrageous that a group of people find themselves behind bars simply for practising their faith or for their beliefs,” said Amna Guellali, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“Algerian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release the three detained men and drop all charges against them and the 15 other members of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light.”

Redouane Foufa, the coordinator of the group of religious members in Bejaia, told Amnesty International before his arrest that the Algerian authorities have been intimidating and harassing the group in Bejaia since April 2022. They interrogated them about their religious beliefs and confiscated their passports, phones and laptops on 2 April. They returned their passports on 7 June but kept their electronic devices.

On 5 June, police in Bejaia held the 24 members of the group for 13 hours, including six children. They interrogated the adults and took their photographs and fingerprints.

According to Nadia Saliba, a group member and wife of detainee Khireddine Ahman, one officer said they are traitors of Islam and do not deserve rights as citizens. The 18 adult members were told they would appear in court the next morning and that their children were prohibited from attending Algerian schools until next year.

On 6 June, the group of 24 spent 14 hours in court before three of them — Redouane Foufa, the coordinator of the movement in Bejaia, and two other members, Khireddine Ahman and Cherif Mohamed Ali — were charged and sent to Bejaia’s Oued Ghir prison.

The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light was established in 1993. It follows the teachings of Imam Mahdi and believes in Imam Ahmed al-Hassan as its divine guide. There are currently an estimated 70 members in Algeria.

It is outrageous that a group of people find themselves behind bars simply for practising their faith or for their beliefs.

Amna Guellali, Amnesty International

According to Hadil El Khouly, a spokesperson for the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light, the members of the group in Bejaia have been interrogated by police a total of ten times over the past three months.

In an interview with Amnesty International before his arrest, Redouane Foufa said that around 30 soldiers had previously searched the house he shares with the members of the group and seized documents such as ID cards and passports, as well as phones and laptops.

Youssra Bezai, another member of the religious minority group, told Amnesty International: “We were living peacefully in our home. We never tried to take our beliefs outside. It is them who came to us and violated our privacy and our rights.”

*Correction: The previous version said that 24 members of the Ahmadi religion of Peace and Light were charged. In fact, only 18 members were charged and the remaining six were children.

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A year ago, Algerian authorities shut down the “Hirak” pro-democracy protests in most of the country. Since then, the number of unfounded terrorism prosecutions has soared, problematic amendments to the Penal Code were adopted, legal actions were initiated against civil society organizations and opposition political parties, and the crackdown on human rights defenders and the media has intensified, while authorities have continued to obstruct independent unions’ registration and activity. 

#NotACrime is an online campaign aiming to draw attention to the ways in which Algerian authorities have increasingly attempted to stifle dissenting voices and independent civil society. Launched by 38 Algerian, regional and international organizations, the campaign will be conducted between 19-28 May on the organizations’ respective social media accounts. 

The campaign calls on Algerian authorities to end their repression of human rights, immediately and unconditionally release those detained solely for the peaceful exercise of their human rights and allow everyone to freely enjoy their rights. Those suspected of responsibility for grave human rights violations should be brought to justice in fair trials, and the authorities should provide access to justice and effective remedies for victims. The campaign calls on all individuals, organizations and relevant parties to contribute to collectively demanding an end to the criminalization of the exercise of fundamental freedoms in Algeria, using the #NotACrime hashtag. 

At least 300 people have been arrested since the beginning of 2022 (as of 17 April) for exercising their right to free expression, peaceful assembly or association, according to Zaki Hannache, a human rights defender, though some have since been released. Arrests and sentencing of peaceful activists, independent trade unionists, journalists and human rights defenders have continued unabated, even after the protest movement was shut down. Algerians jailed for their speech have repeatedly carried out hunger strikes – El Hadi Lassouli since 3 May for instance – above all to protest their arbitrary imprisonment. According to the Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights (LADDH), these figures underrepresent reality because many cases are not communicated due to fear of reprisal. 

The death in detention of Hakim Debbazi on 24 April, after he was placed in pretrial detention on 22 February for social media postings, shows what is at stake when people are detained simply for exercising their human rights. 

While international scrutiny has remained scarce, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, in her update to the Human Rights Council on 8 March 2022, expressed concern over “increasing restrictions on fundamental freedoms” in Algeria and called on the government “to change course.” Ahead of the examination of Algeria’s human rights record in November by the UN Human Rights Council, within the Universal Periodic Review process, the undersigned organizations express serious concern and hold Algerian authorities responsible for the dangerous backsliding in Algeria, notably in the rights to express one’s opinion, assemble and associate peacefully, and share and access information. 

The campaign will extend until the anniversary of the death of Kamel Eddine Fekhar, a human rights defender who died in detention on 28 May 2019 after a 50-day hunger strike to protest his imprisonment for expressing views critical of the government. He had been charged with undermining state security and inciting racial hatred. On 11 December 2016, a British-Algerian journalist, Mohamed Tamalt, also died in custody following a hunger strike during his imprisonment for Facebook posts deemed offensive by the authorities. Algerian authorities have failed to adequately investigate both of their deaths. 

Exercising the fundamental freedoms of peaceful assembly, association and expression, and defending human rights is #NotACrime. 

Signatures 

1. Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT-France) 
2. Action for Change and Democracy in Algeria (ACDA) 
3. AfricanDefenders (Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network) 
4. Algerian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LADDH) 
5. Amnesty International 
6. ARTICLE 19 
7. Autonomous General Confederation of Workers in Algeria (CGATA, Algeria) 
8. Autonomous National Union of Electricity and Gas Workers (SNATEG, Algeria) 
9. Autonomous National Union of Public Administration Staff (SNAPAP, Algeria) 
10. Burkinabè Coalition of Human Rights Defenders (CBDDH) 
11. Burundian Coalition of Human Rights Defenders (CBDDH) 
12. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) 
13. Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) 
14. Civil Rights Defenders (Sweden) 
15. Collective Action-Detainees (Algeria) 
16. Collective of the Families of the Disappeared in Algeria (CFDA) 
17. Confederation of Trade Union Workers’ Commissions (CCOO, Spain) 
18. CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation  
19. DIGNITY – Danish Institute against Torture 
20. Euro-Mediterranean Federation against Enforced Disappearances (FEMED) 
21. Euromed Rights 
22. Free Algeria 
23. Front Line Defenders 
24. General Confederation of Labour (CGT, France) 
25. Human Rights League (LDH, France) 
26. Human Rights Watch 
27. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) 
28. International Labour Network of Solidarity and Struggles 
29. International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF) 
30. Ivorian Coalition of Human Rights Defenders (CIDDH) 
31. Justitia Center for Legal Protection of Human Rights in Algeria 
32. MENA Rights Group 
33. Public Services International (PSI) 
34. Riposte Internationale (Algeria) 
35. Shoaa for Human Rights (Algeria) 
36. Syndicate Union – Solidaires (France) 
37. Tharwa N’Fadhma N’Soumer (Algeria) 
38. Trade Union Confederation of Productive Forces (COSYFOP, Algeria) 

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Hirak movement activists Mohamed Tadjadit, Malik Riahi, Noureddine Khimoud, Souheib Debbaghi and Ahmed Tarek Debbaghi, who have been held in pre-trial detention for almost a year, face prosecution on charges including “publishing fake news”, “undermining the private life of a minor child by publishing a picture that may harm the child” and “defaming public institutions and the judiciary”.  Their arrest came after Tadjadit and Debbaghi published a video on Facebook in April 2021, in which a 15-year-old boy sobs uncontrollably and says that he was sexually assaulted by the police.   

“Despite the fact that this video went viral in Algeria, causing outrage over the reports of torture of a child, including attempted rape, the Algerian authorities’ response was to silence the messengers instead of investigating the reports,” said Amna Guellali, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“The charges brought against all five are related to their exercise of freedom of expression in publicizing a child’s testimony. The Algerian authorities must immediately drop all charges, release the five activists and respect their obligations under international law to protect victims and witnesses of torture and other ill-treatment from retaliation.”

The video was taken by Mohamed Tadjadit and Souheib Debbaghi outside a police station where the minor was detained after participating in a peaceful protest. Several activists waited outside the police station to condemn his arrest and demand his immediate release.  In the video, the minor sobs as both activists ask him if he was sexually assaulted by the police. In a subsequent video, the child confirmed that the police attempted to rape him, and his mother said that she saw them beating him when she visited the station to check on him.

 On 4 April 2021, the police arrested Mohamed Tadjadit in an apartment in Ain Beniane where he was with his friend Malik Riahi. They placed both in police custody before transferring them to prison.

On 5 April 2021, police arrested Souheib Debbaghi, Noureddine Khimoud and Tarek Debbaghi while they were driving in Barika (Batna). They were transferred to Algiers (Cavaignac police station) in the evening. Three days later, a tribunal in Sidi M’hamed in Algiers ordered their provisional detention in connection with the video.

The Algerian authorities must immediately drop all charges, release the five activists and respect their obligations under international law to protect victims and witnesses of torture and other ill-treatment from retaliation.

Amna Guellali, Amnesty International

During a press conference on 5 April, the public prosecutor of the appeals court in Algiers announced the opening of an investigation into the child’s allegations. On 8 April, the public prosecutor of the appeals court in Algiers, confirmed at a press conference that all five activists were being prosecuted in relation to publishing and sharing that video.  In that conference, the prosecutor discredited the minor’s allegations, saying he was a “drug user” and had a “suspicious relationship” with one of the accused, making homophobic remarks about the five activists, as well as accusing them of exploiting the child for political purposes. He also announced that the authorities had launched an investigation into the ties of the minor as well as the five activists with the political movement Rachad, which the authorities accuse of terrorism. He also accused the five of receiving foreign funding to undermine national unity. 

In a communication to the Algerian government, several UN special rapporteurs expressed “alarm at the reports of police violence, including sexual, on the person of a minor” and at “ the statements of the Public Prosecutor questioning these allegations and accusing the child morally, which is likely to call into question the impartiality of the ongoing judicial investigation.”

“The circumstances of the activists’ arrests, alongside the prosecutor’s hateful and unsubstantiated accusations, point to this being an act of reprisal for the release of the video,” said Amna Guellali.

On 28 February 2022, the five activists started a hunger strike to demand their release or the start of their trial. Mohamed Tadjadit, Malik Riahi, Souheib Debbaghi were subsequently kicked, slapped, and beaten in prison to dissuade them from continuing their hunger strike, according to one of their lawyers, who asked not to be named. The prison administration then transferred all five men from Al Harrach prison to Al Bouira prison at 4 am without showing them or their lawyers a transfer order from the public prosecutor and without notifying their lawyers or families. All five stopped their hunger strikes at different times during the third week of the strike, as their demand for the beginning of the trial was finally met and a date was announced.

As a state party to the UN Convention against Torture, Algeria is legally obliged to promptly and impartially investigate all complaints and reports of torture. The UN Committee against Torture, the expert body charged with overseeing the Convention’s implementation, has emphasized that states must protect victims of torture as well as witnesses and others who intervene on their behalf against intimidation and retaliation at all times.

Background

The Hirak is a peaceful protest movement that started in February 2019 calling for radical political change in Algeria.

The five activists face a trial under charges of insulting a public servant, defaming the judiciary, “publishing fake news”, “corruption of a minor”, incitement of a minor to debauchery under articles 144, 146, 196 bis, 326, and 342 of the penal code, as well as “undermining the private life of a child by publishing a picture that may harm the child”,  and “exploitation of a minor through the means of communication in immoral matters” under articles 140 and 141 of the law on the protection of minors. They are also accused of possession of drugs under law 04-18 of 2004 on drugs.

Mohamed Tadjadit, nicknamed “the poet of the Hirak” for his poems and speeches during the Hirak gatherings, was previously sentenced to 18 months in prison under the charge of ‘undermining national unity’ for his participation in peaceful protests. He spent several months in detention before his release in January 2020.

On 16 March 2022, Malik Riahi was tried separately in relation to the case of whistleblower Mohamed Abdellah on charge of “displaying to the public publications that prejudice the national interest”, which could get him three years in prison. His trial is still ongoing.

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