Algeria: Condemnation of activist Amira Bouraoui arbitrary arrest

GENEVA – Geneva Council for Rights and Liberties (GCRL) strongly condemns the arbitrary detention of Algerian political activist Amira Bouraoui amid a growing climate of repression and intimidation on freedoms, political activists, and anti-corruption dissents in Algeria since the ouster of the former president, and calls for the immediate release of Bouraoui.
Amira Bouraoui, a 44-year-old doctor, mother of two, is an activist in the Barakat movement (ENOUGH) and one of the most prominent figures in the “Hirak” protest movement in the country.
On Sunday, June 21, 2020, Cheraga court in Algiers has sentenced Bouraoui to a year in prison. After her arrest, she was kept in custody for more than 24 hours.
Geneva Council of Rights and Liberties estimates that activist Bouraoui’s trial lacks the most basic guarantees of a fair trial recognized in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ratified by Algeria.
Bouraoui was convicted on six counts, including “insulting Islam”, “insulting” the president, and “incitement to violate lockdown” during the coronavirus pandemic. Most prosecutions are being carried out under a new penal code passed hastily on April 22 amid the public health crisis just four months after the election of the new president, Abdul Majeed Tabun.
GCRL believes that the Algerian authorities are carrying out a systematic campaign against political activists and journalists aiming to prevent the resumption of popular protests after lifting the quarantine.
The arrest and imprisonment of activists such as Amira Bouraoui, Karim Tabou, Abdullah bin Naoum, Yassin Khaldi, Samir Belarbi, Muhammad Bilal Menadi, and others, come as apart of the wide clampdown on freedom of expression leading to more civil society liberties instead of starting a national dialogue that includes all spectrums of the Algerian society.
Geneva Council also reminds the Algerian authorities that arbitrary arrests, judicial harassment, and attack on activist should be stopped immediately, stressing that Article 9 of the International Declaration of Human Rights states the absolute prohibition any restriction of individuals freedom [No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile].