Human rights organizations urge Algiers to release activists as it marks the symbolic 60th anniversary of its independence

Amnesty International calls on Algeria to release 266 prisoners over Hirak protests

photo_camera AFP/AMAL BELALLOUFI - Anti-government march in Algeria

Algeria is celebrating its 60th anniversary of independence, but still unable to guarantee freedoms and human rights within its borders. Hundreds of "prisoners of conscience" remain imprisoned in the Algerian country for the peaceful protests known as the Hirak movement that swept across Algeria in February 2019.

Human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and the Algerian League of Human Rights (LADDH) have sent a letter to the Algerian authorities, calling on them to "immediately and unconditionally release at least 266 activists opposed to the authority in situations ranging from arrest to imprisonment, for their participation in the Hirak demonstrations", taking advantage of the symbolism of Independence Day.

AFP/RYAD KRAMDI - Manifestación antigubernamental en la capital Argel

"Sixty years after Algeria gained its independence, fundamental freedoms and human rights continue to be ignored, violated or deliberately undermined," said Amna Guellali, Amnesty International's deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa. "The unjustified detention of activists and protesters must end, and it is shameful that the Algerian authorities continue to use repressive laws to prosecute people solely for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression and assembly," she added.

The Coordination for the Defence of Prisoners of Conscience said the authorities should drop the charges against the prisoners and that "many protesters are being held in pre-trial detention for long periods of time, while others have been sentenced to prison terms of up to five years on vague and trumped-up charges". 

AFP/RYAD KRAMDI - Las fuerzas de seguridad argelinas rodean una manifestación antigubernamental en la capital Argel

The Algerian League of Human Rights has also called for the release of prisoners of conscience and the cessation of prosecutions on these grounds, as well as "punitive administrative measures against those who oppose, dispute or simply engage peacefully". For the LADDH defender, these episodes "place society as a whole in a destabilising legal vulnerability and distance the country from the construction of the rule of law".

The organisation also expressed the need to "give this 60th anniversary of independence a sense of dignity and hope for all Algerians", especially with the aim of building a path to understanding. However, Algiers does not seem to have the same perception for Independence Day, opting instead to display its heavy arsenal in the military domain.  

PHOTO/SAUDI PRESS - El presidente de Argelia, Abdelmadjid Tebboune

The peaceful protests of the Hirak movement were initially directed against then President Bouteflika's fifth term in office, calling for "a total change of the political system. Millions of people came out to protest, while the authorities began to act increasingly against these protesters, journalists, activists and bloggers".

These attacks continued to intensify in the months between the June 2021 legislative elections and the third anniversary of the Hirak movement in February 2022.

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