أطلڤوهم# (#ReleaseThem) is a national advocacy campaign that will be launched during the month of Ramadan (10 March – 9 April) for the release of 228 prisoners of conscience in Algeria. It is led by Algerian activists, intellectuals, associations and media.
Since the advent of the Hirak in 2019, hundreds of peaceful citizens have been imprisoned and thousands have suffered from the harassment of judicial and security forces.
The #ReleaseThem campaign aims to support the detainees and their families and make visible their arbitrary detention, which remains unknown to much of the Algerian population and international public opinion. During Ramadan, the holy month of mercy, we will publish portraits of several prisoners of conscience.
The cases presented are no more legitimate than those not mentioned in this campaign. Because of the difficulty of covering all cases, this choice was made on the basis of objective criteria (regions, ideologies, gender and age) to illustrate the indiscriminate nature of arbitrariness.
We want to reaffirm our full support to all prisoners of conscience and demand their immediate release and full rehabilitation.
Prisoner of conscious Mohad Gasmi:
Mohamed Gasmi Ben Abderrahmane was born on December 11, 1975, in the Ksar of Bouda (Adrar), south of the country. In his youth, Mohad read a lot and wondered about his future until he took over his father’s small welding workshop and made it his profession. Despite this, Mohad continued his studies until high school and became the father of three children. In the 2000s, he became aware of the importance of civic engagement and the marginalization and underdevelopment of the South despite its wealth of natural resources. In 2011, he joined the Coordination nationale de défense des droits des chômeurs (CNDDC), a movement calling for an equitable redistribution of wealth. Those who have worked closely with him describe him as “a fighter with the soul of a rebel”. In March 2013, the CNDDC organized a major demonstration in Ouargla, to which the authorities responded with repression and judicial harassment. Even though the movement was running out of steam, Mohad was convinced that the battle of the unemployed had opened breaches. In December 2014, the government announced the first pilot shale gas drilling at In Salah, and Mohad found himself among the leaders of the peaceful anti-shale gas protests. In March 2015, he took part in the World Social Forum (WSF) in Tunis and brilliantly defended the fight of the first anti-shale gas movement in the Maghreb. The Algerian activist also participated in COP22 (2016) in Morocco, honouring Algeria by defending a grassroots conception of ecological transition. With the advent of the Hirak, Mohad joined in all the demonstrations. Like millions of Algerians, he dreamed of freedom, justice and dignity. He came under pressure for his engagement, especially when the new hydrocarbon law (19-13) was promulgated. Mohad was arrested on June 8, 2020, his house was searched, and he was placed in pre-trial detention on charges including “apology for terrorism” following a Facebook post. Mohad Gasmi went on several hunger strikes to protest against his arbitrary detention. He was finally sentenced in two cases, the first to three years’ imprisonment, of which one year was suspended, and the second to two years of detention. Mohad obtained his baccalaureate twice while in detention. He has been detained for almost four years and is currently being held at the El Menia penitentiary.
