CHOAA Organization: Condemns the Algerian authorities’ disregard for prisoners of conscience and political detainees and their exclusion from amnesty measures.
Statement by the CHOAA Organization for the Defense of Human Rights:
On Thursday, October 31, 2024, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune signed a presidential decree granting amnesty to individuals described as prisoners convicted of offenses against public order, coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the liberation revolution in Algeria.
The amnesty decree only applies to those convicted in definitive rulings and does not concern those held in pretrial detention. It sets conditions for those benefiting from this amnesty without naming specific individuals and without any mention of political prisoners or prisoners of conscience. However, these conditions effectively exclude the estimated 260 prisoners of conscience, in addition to around 160 political prisoners from the 1990s. Only 18 prisoners of conscience benefited from the amnesty, whose charges coincided with those not excluded by the presidential decree, including journalist and director of “Radio M,” Ihsane El kadi, and human rights activist Mohad Gasmi.
The decree excluded individuals convicted of crimes related to charges of assembly and incitement, as well as those convicted of committing or attempting to commit crimes specified in Article 87 bis of the Penal Code, which pertains to terrorism and sabotage. It also excluded charges related to actions that could harm state security, stability, national unity, territorial integrity, or incitement to such actions. Offenses related to insulting or assaulting officials or state institutions and those concerning discrimination and hate speech charges that many prisoners of conscience face were also excluded. Additionally, the decree excluded individuals convicted of committing or attempting to commit crimes specified in Legislative Decree 92-03 dated September 30, 1992, concerning the fight against sabotage and terrorism, which has been used against most political prisoners since the 1990s.
It is noteworthy that the presidency issued a presidential amnesty statement two years ago on July 4, 2022, announcing the preparation of a special law extending from the laws of mercy and civil concord, concerning 298 individuals sentenced. The intention was to address the category of 1990s prisoners of conscience, but that law has yet to be enacted, leaving the situation of these prisoners of conscience unresolved despite the dire health and humanitarian conditions they endure in prisons.
SHOAA expresses its dissatisfaction with the exclusion of prisoners of conscience and political prisoners from the amnesty decree. Furthermore, the ongoing detention of new citizens on political charges, most recently the pretrial detention of human rights activist Ayoub Azzawi on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the liberation revolution, and the continued denial by the authorities of the existence of prisoners of conscience, highlight their disregard for the pleas of human rights organizations for the release of prisoners of conscience. In light of discussions about a “national dialogue,” this further confirms the lack of any political will to improve human rights conditions or release all prisoners of conscience and political prisoners, demonstrating an unwavering commitment to a policy of zero tolerance against those detained on political charges. This undermines any credibility of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s call for comprehensive national dialogue with all national forces in the country.
SHOAA also condemns the Algerian authorities’ continued policy of repression and demands an end to restrictions on freedoms, the cessation of arrests of activists and opponents, and the judicial harassment against them, alongside the release of prisoners of conscience and political prisoners. The organization calls for a serious political dialogue, asserting that addressing the multiple crises facing Algeria today requires political openness and free media.
