Franco-Algerian activist Amira Bouraoui announced her intention to return to Algeria in a social media post. “I will return to Algeria very soon. My country ❤️. I ask all the cowards who insulted me and distanced themselves from me not to approach Her Highness. Her Highnesses don’t like cowards” she wrote.
Franco-Algerian activist Amira Bouraoui announced her intention to return to Algeria in a provocative social media post, writing:
“I will return to Algeria very soon. My country ❤️. I ask all the cowards who insulted me and distanced themselves from me not to approach Her Highness. Her Highnesses don’t like cowards.”
The statement quickly drew mixed reactions. Some supporters welcomed her planned return, praising her courage. Others warned of severe risks, with one commenter cautioning:
“Stay where you are or you’ll end up in prison and gain nothing,”
to which Bouraoui replied, “I know how to handle it, sir!”
Another user expressed fear for her safety, noting that “until now, they talk about you on the radio; your escape stuck in their throat.” Bouraoui brushed aside these concerns, responding that “it will pass… it’s just a few cowards.”
Amira Bouraoui expressed her intention to first visit her father’s tomb for a memorial tribute upon her return and eagerly looks forward to embracing her mother, whom she hasn’t seen in two years.
Screenshot of Amira Bouraoui’s publication on Monday, December 30, 2024
A 10-Year Sentence in Absentia
In November 2023, she was sentenced in absentia by an Algerian court to 10 years in prison, stemming from her dramatic escape from Algeria in February 2023. That escape ignited a major diplomatic crisis between Algeria and France: Algerian authorities characterized her departure as an “illegal exfiltration” orchestrated by French diplomatic and security personnel, prompting Algiers to recall its ambassador to Paris for “consultations.” Bouraoui’s announcement, almost 2 years after she escaped Algeria, is seen as a direct affront to the violent and criminal Algerian military regime, potentially endangering her safety and life.
APS headline: Algeria accuses foreign”’subversive networks” of orchestrating Amira Bouraoui’s clandestine exfiltration to France, branding it a ‘scandalous affair’ undermining international relations.
Background and Escape
Bouraoui, a 46-year-old gynecologist and journalist, first rose to prominence in 2014 through her outspoken opposition to former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in the Barakat movement. She has faced continuous legal pressure in Algeria, notably receiving a two-year prison sentence in 2021 for “insulting Islam” and “offending the president.” After being placed under a travel ban, she crossed into Tunisia on January 30, 2023, using her mother’s Algerian passport.
Amira Bouraoui upon her release from Tipasa prison in July 2020
On February 3, 2023, Tunisian air and border police apprehended her for illegal entry as she attempted to board a flight to France. Although a Tunisian judge initially ordered her release and returned her French passport on February 6, she was allegedly abducted by two Tunisian judicial police officers as she exited the magistrate’s office. Detained by the Directorate General of Borders and Foreigners, she appeared set for deportation to Algeria, where she would likely face immediate arrest, until an urgent intervention by French consular services. As a dual citizen (she obtained French nationality in 2008 through marriage), Bouraoui was granted diplomatic protection. Later that same evening, on February 6, 2023, she boarded a Transavia flight to Lyon under French consular escort, narrowly avoiding forced return to Algiers.
Her last-minute departure sparked a violent media and diplomatic backlash from the Algerian regime. Algerian state media claimed French intelligence services (DGSE) orchestrated Bouraoui’s “illegal exfiltration,” further aggravating an already fragile relationship between Algiers and Paris. This friction persisted despite attempts at mending ties following French President Emmanuel Macron’s 2022 visit to Algeria.
In retaliation for what authorities perceived as a humiliating blow they “could neither swallow nor dislodge,” the Algerian government pursued anyone remotely connected to Bouraoui’s escape. One of the first targets was Mustapha Bendjama, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Le Provincial in Annaba, whom officials suspected of helping orchestrate her departure. During questioning, Bendjama’s phone was searched, a procedure he later described as torture, alleging that gendarmes pried his device open with a screwdriver. Investigators discovered messages exchanged with Raouf Farrah, an Algerian-Canadian researcher at the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, discussing “financial indicators” that security services interpreted as potential references to “informants.” Both Bendjama and Farrah were arrested and, in October 2023, sentenced to eight months in prison plus a one-year suspended term. Farrah’s case drew international condemnation and cast additional light on Algeria’s widening crackdown on researchers, journalists, and activists with international ties.
In November 2023, the Algerian court also handed Bouraoui her 10-year sentence for “illegally leaving the territory” and other charges, while her mother received a one-year suspended sentence. Several others accused of aiding her, border police officers, taxi drivers, were likewise imprisoned.
A Heightened Crackdown and New Waves of Repression
Bouraoui’s declared return comes amid a broader escalation of state repression. The regime recently engaged in a failed kidnapping attempt of journalist Hichem Aboud in Barcelona, launched attacks on the writer Kamel Daoud, and abducted Boualem Sansal, whom President Abdelmadjid Tebboune publicly derided as “a thief with no identity and no father.” At least 61 generals have been imprisoned in military detention, most recently General Kaidi, and countless young Algerians have been arrested for using or sharing the hashtag #Manish_Radi (“I am not satisfied”).
This hashtag underscores widespread discontent with the country’s socio-economic malaise and shrinking political freedoms. It gained momentum particularly after the fall of Assad’s regime revealed the Algerian military including Mohamed Mediene and Chafik Mesbah involvement in Syrian war crimes through intelligence leaks. In response, the government initiated a counter-campaign, #AnaM3aBladi (“I am with my country”), enlisting artists and influencers to portray any dissent as a foreign conspiracy orchestrated by Morocco and Israel. President Tebboune’s journalist, Facal Metaoui, went so far as to implicate Israeli academic Edy Cohen in the campaign, a claim widely dismissed as baseless.
Screenshot of “Fayçal Metaoui: a Zionist behind the hashtag of shame” where he accuses Edy Cohen of being the original instigator of the #Manish_Radi hashtag.
Supporters of the regime have even called for physical harm against #Manish_Radi participants or protesters, fueling allegations that the military authorities in Algiers are deliberately fanning unrest to justify imposing “defensive terrorism” measures, a strategy that would consolidate their hold on the state.
Boualem Sansal’s Ordeal and French-Algerian Tensions
In parallel, Boualem Sansal, a prominent Algerian writer, remains under observation by French diplomatic circles, with President Macron reportedly tracking his plight personally. Sansal’s continued detention despite reported negotiations between Algiers and Paris highlights the Algerian regime’s disregard for international norms when dealing with dual nationals or individuals with French support. Bouraoui’s assumption that Algeria might hesitate to jail another French citizen, given the diplomatic blowback it endured earlier, could thus prove to be a dangerous miscalculation.
The Presidential Pardon and Tebboune’s “Dialogue”
Some analysts argue that Bouraoui’s declared return could be timed to coincide with President Tebboune’s so-called reconciliation agenda, outlined in his December 29, 2024, speech before the Algerian Parliament. Tebboune announced plans for a “profound and inclusive national dialogue” to address Algeria’s domestic and geopolitical challenges. On December 25, 2024, his government issued a presidential pardon for 2,471 prisoners, including those detained for public order offenses and a handful of prominent prisoners of opinion such as singer Jamila Ben Touis, Slimane Souli, Ayoub Azaoui, and Sofiane Hamedat.
However, activists arrested for their involvement in the #Manich_Radhi campaign, along with high-profile figures like Mira Mokhnache, a Kabylie-based academic, and Mustapha Bendjama, who was rearrested on December 30, 2024 in Annaba, were conspicuously excluded. This selective application of mercy underscores the regime’s contradictions: on the one hand, it claims to seek national unity; on the other, it continues to arrest or detain individuals associated with anti-regime sentiment.
Our analysis reveals that Bouraoui, sentenced to ten years and classified as a fugitive under an international arrest warrant, falls far outside the pardon’s stated criteria, which limit clemency to those with sentences of 24 months or fewer for non-imprisoned individuals, or those eligible for an 18-month reduction if their remaining sentence is between 18 months and 30 years. Her charges involve “illegal flight” and potential state security implications, categories typically excluded from pardons. She also lacks any special grounds for leniency such as age, pregnancy, or having young children.
Military Oversight and Tebboune’s Limited Power
Tebboune’s inconsistent policies, offering pardons on the one hand and pursuing a clampdown on dissenters on the other, exemplify what many describe as his powerless position under a dominating military regime. Observers argue that these so-called “mixed signals” are little more than the generals’ heavy-handed intervention whenever it suits them. Negotiations for the release of Boualem Sansal, reportedly orchestrated through French envoys, collapsed when the military vetoed the move, revealing that Tebboune’s decisions can be overridden at will.
Following these events, Tebboune delivered a speech laden with aggressive rhetoric against France, invoking unresolved colonial grievances, nuclear waste disputes, and the issue of Algerian skulls stored in French museums. These escalatory statements, said to be influenced by intelligence directives, serve two main objectives: derailing potential negotiations that might reveal Algiers’s inability to secure Sansal’s release, and extracting further concessions from France, chief among them the extradition of Algerian exiles such as Amir Boukhors, Hichem Aboud, Anouar Malek, and Ferhat Mehenni, all of whom hold legal protection or asylum status in France.
French President Emmanuel Macron lunched with Abdelmadjid Tebboune in Algiers on August 26, 2022 at the Zeralda presidential residence. From left to right, on the French side: Bernard Emié (DGSE), Sébastien Lecornu (Minister of the Armed Forces), Emmanuel Macron and Thierry Burkhard (Chief of Staff). On the Algerian side: Mehenna Djebbar is seated to the left of President Tebboune, with Saïd Chengriha to his right and Djamel Medjdoub. During this meeting, the Algerian side expressed an explicit request for the extradition of Algerian political opponents residing in France, which Paris refuses.
Ultimately, these developments signal a protracted power struggle between Algeria’s so-called “deep state,” led by military and intelligence figures, and French intelligence agencies (DGSE/DGSI). Within this battle, Tebboune appears to function as a largely symbolic leader, his decisions subject to veto by a system prioritizing its own survival above diplomatic or domestic reforms.
International Scrutiny and Potential Risks Ahead
International observers, including human rights organizations and embassies from the United States, France, Britain, Switzerland, Germany, as well as representatives of the European Parliament and the U.S. Congress, are closely monitoring Bouraoui’s situation. Some reports claim that President Tebboune harbors a personal grudge against Bouraoui, reportedly using misogynistic language to describe her as a woman who “escaped his control.” Given the Algerian regime’s track record, any assumption that her French citizenship alone will shield her from arrest is precarious. The regime, often described as “pathologically tyrannical,” is reputedly steered by eight key military figures in Algiers, Mohamed Mediene, Saïd Chengriha, Abdelkader Haddad, Hamid Oubelaïd, Djebbar Mehenna, Mahrez Djeribi, Chafik Mesbah, and Lotfi Nezzar whose decisions override public or presidential consensus.
Bouraoui’s declaration of return has arrived at a moment of heightened tension. Should she follow through with her plan, the regime’s response will serve as a critical indicator of the balance of power in Algeria. Whether this response will reflect any genuine push for national reconciliation, or simply reaffirm the military’s hardline stance and Tebboune’s limited authority, remains to be seen. Observers warn that if the regime perceives Bouraoui’s move as a direct threat, it may escalate existing hostilities, jeopardizing not only her safety but also Algeria’s fragile diplomatic ties with France.
| Amira Bouraoui announced her intention to return to Algeria in the midst of the Boualem Sansal crisis, and at the very moment of the opening of the national dialogue and an unusual presidential pardon last week. It remains unclear whether her decision is based on negotiations or guarantees within the framework of this dialogue, or whether it constitutes a direct affront to the regime. Her status as a French citizen and her clear defiance of a regime weakened since the fall of the Assad regime, as well as leaks of her alleged collaboration in international crimes, and the Boualem Sansal crisis, could fuel this hypothesis. |
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By: Abderrahmane Fares.