Articles for Algeria

Today, 11 June 2013, marks the anniversary of Dhahbia Bouaicha's disappearance. Exactly 18 years ago, this 51 year-old mother was abducted by military officers at her sister's house, in Setif, East Algeria. Since this day, her children remain unaware of her whereabouts.

Dhahbia Bouaicha used to live in Rafsa, Salah Bey, in Setif wilaya.

Yahia Bounouar, free-lance journalist and President of the Algerian Observatory for Human Rights (OADH) has been harassed and persecuted by the Algerian security services for several months. On 23 May 2013, he was arrested at Constantine airport where the border police told him that "there was on a warning list at the level of all police stations nationwide".

Farida Ouaghlissi, a 49-year-old human rights Algerian activist and a wife of one of the victims of disappearance, was arrested on 3 December at Algiers airport where she was waiting to a take a flight to Geneva in order to participate in the 2012 Alkarama Award ceremony.

A thirty-three year old Algerian man is dead due to police brutality...This incident would have gone unnoticed had it been committed inside police station walls, in a prison, and out of the public eye.

Mr Zoubir Kaf, a 70 year old father of four left his family home in Laghouat on the 17th of July 2011 at 6.30am and has not been seen since.

 

That day he was meant to be meeting some friends, several of whom tried to reach him at his family home when they noticed that he did not turn up.

Saber Saidi, the 33-year-old cyber-activist detained by Algerian intelligence services on 11 July 2012 has been charged with "incitement to terrorism" for sharing videos of the Arab revolutions and Algerian opposition movements. Today detained at El-Harrach prison, he could face a heavy prison sentence simply for exercising his right to freedom of expression.

On 11 July at around midday, Saidi was arrested in public by agents from the Department of Intelligence and Security (DRS) near his home in the Zerhoun Mokhtar estate, Bordj El Kiffane, Algiers.

The cyber-activist, Tarek Mameri, was sentenced this morning by the correctional court of Algiers to a suspended sentence of 8 months imprisonment, a $10,000 fine, and $100,000 in damages and interest for, "insulting a constituent body", "destruction of public goods", "destruction of administrative documents", and "direct incitement to gather

The Human Right Committee has just made public its findings regarding the disappearance of Mammar Ouaghlissi and has again condemned Algeria for having violated numerous rights protected under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including the right to life and the right not to be subjected to torture or mistreatment. Alkarama had filed a complaint on 1 July 2009 to the United Nations Human Rights Committee on behalf of Mrs Farida Ouaghlissi, Mammar's wife.