On Wednesday, 12 August 2026, the investigating judge at the Sidi M’Hamed Court in Algiers ordered the pretrial detention of activist Mohamed Bakir Torki, known as “Sofiane,” at Koléa Prison, and opened a judicial investigation against him. He is being prosecuted on several charges, most notably the felony of glorifying terrorism and the felony of using information and communication technologies to support or disseminate the ideas of a terrorist organization, under Article 87 bis of the Algerian Penal Code.
He also faces misdemeanor charges of deliberately publishing and disseminating false information via social media likely to undermine public security and public order, under Article 196 bis of the Penal Code; publishing material likely to harm the national interest, under Article 96; insulting a public institution, under Article 146; and incitement to boycott elections, under the Organic Law on the Electoral System (Ordinance No. 21-01 of 10 March 2021).
Mohamed Bakir Torki was arrested by security services at his workplace on the evening of Sunday, 9 August 2026, where he worked as a security officer at the Directorate of State Property in Algiers. He was held in police custody until Wednesday, 12 August 2026, when he was brought before the Public Prosecutor at the Sidi M’Hamed Court, who referred the case to the investigating judge. The latter ordered his placement in pretrial detention and the opening of a judicial investigation. The charges are based on his participation in a live broadcast on TikTok on 5 June 2026, which the authorities cited as the basis for the charges brought against him.
Mohamed Bakir Torki, known as “Sofiane,” is closely associated with Algeria’s Hirak protest movement, which began in February 2019. During a live broadcast on Sky News Arabia from Algiers, he uttered the phrase “Yetnahaw Gaâ” (“They all must go”) following former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s announcement that he would not seek a fifth presidential term. The video quickly went viral both inside and outside Algeria.
The phrase “Yetnahaw Gaâ” soon became one of the defining slogans of the Hirak movement, symbolizing protesters’ rejection of the ruling political establishment. It was widely used during demonstrations and across social media under the hashtag #YetnahawGa3.
The pretrial detention of Mohamed Bakir Torki comes amid the continued judicial prosecution of Hirak activists, human rights defenders, opposition figures, and journalists. More than seven years later, his name remains closely associated with one of the most emblematic slogans of Algeria’s popular protest movement.
