France again prolongs Dr Dhina's detention, playing into the hands of the Algerian regime

The FreeMourad Committee is astonished by the judge's decision, knowing that she had herself pointed out, during the hearing 2 weeks ago on 21 March, that neither the arrest warrant nor the extradition request sent by Algeria was in conformity with the Franco- Algerian extradition convention of 1964 and that neither document contained dates or locations for the alleged offences. During this same hearing, even the general attorney had stated that, with regards to the file about Dr Dhina sent by Algeria, "a certain number of obligations are not respected. The first, which is the most obvious, is to know what the object of the request is."

Mr Antoine Comte, Dr Dhina's lawyer, had also highlighted the fact that the Algerian judiciary had been unable to provide the required documents after more than 2 months of Dr Dhina's detention. He also reminded that an investigation carried out by the Swiss federal police from 1994 to 2000, originally launched at the request of the Algerian authorities, was closed after having found absolutely no basis for the accusations against Dr Dhina.

Today's decision by the Paris court therefore seems incomprehensible, unless it is seen through the paradigm increasingly held by many in Algeria, the Arab world and Europe, who firmly believe that French justice system is being used by the Algerian regime and who see deliberate collusion between the majority in power in France and the Algerian regime to suppress the voice of a leading political figure who is calling for a the establishment of a real democracy and the rule of law in his country.