Algeria: US State Department denounces how dissent is tacit
with the regime employing brutal tactics to silence dissent.
including pretrial detention, torture, terrorism charges and the gagging of freedom of speech.
The State Department's annual report on human rights practices, released in March, began by questioning the atmosphere of the election, marred
by restrictions on civil liberties and "lack of transparency in vote counting procedures," noting the low turnout at the polls that brought President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to power.
despite popular protests for a clear break with the military regime.
Cases of torture abound in General Saïd Chengriha
new Algeria: the report mentions many cases, including that of activist Mohamed Benhalima, tortured, beaten and sexually abused by the authorities during his detention of him.
Yet, there has been no official investigation into these degrading treatments.
Benhalima had exposed corruption in the military in early 2019, while living in exile in Spain following his participation in the Hirak protest movement.
Among the cases cited by the report there is also that of the activist Abdelhamid Bouziza, kidnapped from his home in Tlemcen on 19 October.
What is Algiers now?
"The authorities did not speak of his detention of him until 8 November, when they announced that he was being held at Hay El Darwich prison in Blida on terrorism charges."
Terrorism charges have been used to measure to silence dissidents: “Authorities cited broad provisions of the penal code.
including membership of a terrorist organization, to arrest or punish critics, including journalists and defenders of human rights".
In February 2022, the Middle East Institute (MEA) reported that 59 detainees were being held under extensive terrorism charges under the Penal Code, which the MEA said were being levied against "peaceful political activists".
According to many human rights organizations, there are more than 300 political prisoners in Algeria, including journalists, lawyers, opposition figures and Hirak protesters.
The Algerian regime has also silenced the press, sending influential journalists such as Ihsane El Kadi.
director and founder of Radio M and the independent Maghreb news site Émergent, to jail just for expressing views criticizing the regime.
The US State Department report also denounces violations affecting refugees and vulnerable groups:
“Black Algerians and migrants from sub-Saharan Africa have been discriminated against and subjected to racism,” the report reads.
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