Algeria: Summary Executions of Fedsi Brothers by the Head of Taher's Daira Remain Unpunished
On 5 November 2015, Alkarama sent a communication to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-repetition (SR Truth) to inform him that the relatives of Nasreddine and Messaoud Fedsi − both arrested and summarily executed by the Taher police on 19 April 1997 – continue to face the silence of the Algerian judicial authorities.
Arrested by agents from the security forces, Nasreddine and Messaoud Fedsi − two brothers from Taher City in North-Eastern Algeria, aged respectively 23 and 20 years old at the time − were taken to a forest close to their home where they were summarily executed. According to several witnesses, the head of Taher's Daïra himself − the so-called Fourar Meheni − personally executed the two victims.
Despite the numerous steps taken and complaints submitted by the two brothers' father, the Algerian justice system still refuses to follow up on this case, resulting in impunity for the perpetrator of this crime and his accomplices.
Following a complaint sent by Alkarama to the Human Rights Committee (HRC), the latter issued a decision in 2014 in which it condemned the Algerian authorities for serious violations suffered by the victims and their families. The Committee therefore called on the Algerian authorities to launch an impartial investigation into the execution of the Fedsi brothers and prosecute the perpetrators.
In response, the authorities attempted to intimidate the victims' father, Khalifa Fedsi, summoning him before the prosecutor of Taher Tribunal in order for him to explain the reasons behind his UN appeal. Other families of victims have also been subjected to the same pressure and occasional acts of reprisals following their actions and efforts to obtain justice, such as late Mrs Zohra Boudehane who, even 20 years after the disappearance of her husband and son, was the victim of intimidation simply for wanting to know the truth about their fates.
As usual, the Algerian authorities continue to rely on the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation promulgated in 2006, which punishes anyone guilty of "tarnishing Algeria's image internationally" with a prison term of 3 to 5 years, in order to deprive victims of their right to seize international bodies.
We recall that this provision, together with the numerous intimidation attempts against the victims' families, only confirms the impunity enjoyed by the Algerian security forces for crimes committed in the 1990s. Through this recent action, Alkarama urged the Special Rapporteur on the right to truth (SR Truth) to remind the Algerian authorities of their international obligations − in particular under the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons against Enforced Disappearance (ICCPED) ratified by Algeria in February 2007 – and demand that they acknowledge the crimes committed by their agents as well as their responsibility in this tragedy. At the same time, they must imperatively cease all acts of administrative and judicial persecution against victims' families who only exercise their rights to justice and reparation.
For more information or an interview, please contact the media team at media@alkarama.org (Dir: +41 22 734 1008).