In the week leading up to the presidential elections scheduled for September 7, 2024, the Algerian authorities continue their intense campaign of arrests and repression targeting political opponents and activists. Several provinces have witnessed mass arrests, constituting a blatant violation of the right to freedom of expression and the right to political participation.
On Monday, August 26, 2024, police officers arrested political opponent and Vice President of the Islamic Salvation Front, Ali Benhadj, and his son Abdel Fattah Benhadj, placing them in custody at the Bab Ezzouar police station in Algiers. On the evening of Wednesday, August 28, 2024, Ali Benhadj and his son were brought before the prosecutor at the Hussein Dey Court and then referred to an investigative judge who ordered Ali Benhadj to be placed under judicial supervision while his son, Abdel Fattah Benhadj, was placed in temporary detention pending investigation.
Political opponent Ali Benhadj has been charged with disseminating and promoting malicious and false news among the public and praising terrorist acts. His son, Abdel Fattah Benhadj, has been charged with disseminating and promoting malicious and false news among the public and participating in the glorification of terrorist acts. The investigative judge ordered strict judicial supervision of Ali Benhadj, including prohibiting him from leaving his residential building, forbidding him from seeing anyone not living with him without the judge’s permission, and banning him from making speeches in any form, including on media and social media platforms. On the morning of Saturday, August 31, 2024, security forces raided Ali Benhadj’s home, searched the premises, and seized all electronic devices, including phones and computers.
Additionally, on August 27, 2024, political opponent and national coordinator of the Socialist Democratic Movement Party, Fethi Ghares, was arrested at his family home and taken to the central police station in Algiers. His wife, Messaouda Cheballah, was also summoned, with her phone confiscated, and she was summoned before the prosecutor of the Bainem Court in Bab El Oued, Algiers, on Thursday, August 29, 2024. Both were referred to an investigative judge, who ordered them to be placed under judicial supervision pending investigation, with the obligation to sign in every 15 days, and barred from publishing on social media or expressing their opinions through the media.
Political opponent Fethi Ghares is charged with insulting the President of the Republic, spreading malicious information that could harm public order, and disseminating hate speech and discrimination, while his wife, Messaouda Cheballah, is charged with participating in the three offenses attributed to her husband.
Meanwhile, human rights defender Abdallah Benaoum was arrested on Wednesday, August 28, 2024, at 7 p.m. in front of his home in Oued Rhiou, Relizane province, using force by internal security forces. At midnight on Wednesday, five hours after his arrest, police forces and intelligence officers searched his home. He was transferred on Thursday, August 29, 2024, to the Internal Security Directorate in Oran.
Furthermore, political activist Boualem Boudissa was arrested by police officers on Wednesday, August 29, 2024, in front of the Hussein Dey Court in Algiers and is still detained, awaiting his appearance before the prosecutor of the Hussein Dey Court in Algiers.
In its ongoing crackdown on independent media inside and outside the country, the Algerian authorities have targeted Al Magharibia channel, based in the United Kingdom, in an aggressive attempt to silence it due to its crucial role in providing reliable and transparent information about the upcoming presidential elections on September 7, 2024. The channel’s platform has shed light on the Algerian reality in its political, human rights, social, and economic aspects and served as a platform for diverse opinions amid the crackdown on freedom of opinion and expression in Algeria and the silencing of all critical voices.
This escalation in arrests, imprisonment, and targeting of opposition figures and activists for expressing their views on the upcoming presidential elections—particularly those advocating for an election boycott amid the regime’s goal to demonstrate high turnout to present a favorable image to international observers—underscores the repressive climate in Algeria.
SHOAA for Human Rights views the climate of intimidation and harassment of opponents and journalists, using the judiciary and security services to serve the interests of the authorities in Algeria, as a deprivation of citizens’ right to political participation and fundamental freedoms. This situation casts a dark shadow over the upcoming presidential elections, failing to provide the minimum conditions for the elections to be free, transparent, and fair.
We call on the Algerian authorities to ensure that all Algerians can express their opinions without fear of retaliation and that independent media can cover the elections without facing harassment and intimidation.
