#Algeria : President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has granted his pardon to a number of detainees from the Algerian popular protest movement. A decision that sounds like an admission of failure of the repression policy in force for several weeks and which ended up fueling a resumption of Hirak.
In addition to the names mentioned, the pardon should also benefit one of the emblematic leaders of Hirak, Karim Tabbou, even if his name is not on the list of detainees who have benefited from the presidential pardon. In any case, his lawyer told the Algerian media that the request for the activist’s release had been granted on Thursday by the indictment chamber at the Court of Algiers. As a reminder, Tabbou was sentenced to 12 months in prison, including 6 months suspended, on March 11 before this sentence was increased to one year in prison on March 24.
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We also announce the releases of Amira Bouraoui, Fodil Boumala and Samir Benlarbi. The Court of Algiers will rule on these cases this Thursday, July 2.
This presidential pardon illustrates the failure of the repression initiated by the government of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune who wanted to take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to settle his accounts with the leaders of the Algerian popular demonstration movement by throwing in prison all the emblematic figures of the dispute.
The objective was to break the movement and at the same time kill any hint of resumption of the Hirak after the deconfinement.
Only, these arrests produced the opposite effect. As certain Hirak leaders were behind the call to suspend popular demonstrations on Tuesday (students) and Friday (the whole population) because of the coronavirus pandemic, their incarceration prompted some members of the popular movement to protest to demand the resumption of Hirak to demand their release.
Demonstrations were thus organized in certain regions, despite the confinement, notably in Tizi-Ouzou and Béjaïa. Demonstrations which sometimes turned into clashes between demonstrators and the police.
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It is therefore aware of the failure of this policy of repression and of the image it creates internationally that President Tebboune changes his tune. Thus, the KarimTabbou case was brought to the UN through the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the rapporteurs of the United Nations office had sent a questionnaire to the Algerian authorities asking them to s ‘explain on “allegations of the arrest, arbitrary detention and conviction of Mr. Karim Tabbou”. A situation that has tarnished a little more the image of Algeria internationally.
Thus, by deciding to release the detainees from Hirak, President Tebboune is trying to alleviate criticism both nationally and internationally.
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