In its statement issued on 30 May 2026, SHOAA for Human Rights raised concerns over the lack of transparency surrounding the images, videos, and information circulated regarding an alleged terrorist suicide bombing in Blida on 13 April 2026. The organization called on the Algerian authorities to provide official clarification and disclose the facts to the public. Months later, fundamental questions remain unanswered: What actually happened? Where do the investigations stand? And why has the minimum information that could be made public without compromising the investigation still not been disclosed?
Confidentiality of investigations is a legitimate principle, but it should not become a justification for the indefinite withholding of information or an absence of accountability, particularly in a case directly affecting public security. The right to information is not merely a human rights demand; it is a constitutional right enshrined in Article 55 of the Algerian Constitution and is also protected under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Algeria is a party. Transparency and access to information, subject to lawful, necessary and legitimate restrictions, are therefore obligations that cannot be indefinitely set aside on the grounds of investigative confidentiality.
These questions have become even more pressing amid reports that a significant number of individuals have been arrested in connection with the investigations. This raises serious questions regarding the individual evidence and legal grounds underlying these arrests, as well as respect for the rights of the defence, judicial oversight, and the need to prevent an indiscriminate expansion of suspicion.
SHOAA reiterates its unequivocal condemnation of all forms of extremism, violence and terrorism, and affirms the legitimacy and necessity of combating them. At the same time, it warns against allowing counter-terrorism measures to become a framework for unjustifiably expanding the scope of suspicion or targeting critical voices and peaceful political and human rights activism. Months after the Blida bombing, the question is no longer only: What happened? It is also: Why does the official silence persist, and where does legitimate investigative confidentiality end and society’s right to information and accountability begin?
