Cairo: 21 January 2020
The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information today condemned the decision issued by the investigating judge at the Court of Sidi M’hamed in Algiers, ordering the continuation of the detention of Karim Tabbou, the founder of the Social and Democratic Union party- under establishment- for a further period of four months starting from January 26. Tabbou is detained against the backdrop of posting blogs critical of the deceased defense minister “Gaid Salah” via his account on “Facebook”, over which he is charged with “weakening the army’s morale”.
El Kolea’s penal institution informed prominent dissident “Karim Tabbou” of the decision issued yesterday by Sidi M’hamed Court’s investigating judge extending his temporary detention for further four months starting from 26 January 2020, on charges of “publishing publications that could disrupt the country’s national unity”, referring to some blogs he wrote on “Facebook” criticizing the late army’s chief and defense minister Ahmed Gaid Salah.
It is worth mentioning that this is the second case over which prominent political dissident Karim Tabou is being tried because of his views and political activity during the revolution that toppled the late President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
On 11 September 2019, Karim Tabbou was arrested in front of his house in the Douira suburb of Algiers, and had been held in pretrial detention until he was released on the 25th of September pending the case.
After less than 24 hours during which Karim was set free spending time with his family, he was arrested once more after Sidi M’hamed Court ordered his detention on a new charge; which is “publishing publications that could prejudice national unity” in accordance with Article 79 of the Penal Code.
Laywey Gamal Eid, director of ANHRI, said “Karim Tabbou is a prisoner of conscience who is brought to trial because of his political views that reject the Algerian military establishment in the transitional period that Algeria went through. The decision to extend his detention, alongside the flagrant violation of freedom of expression in the country, reveals the military regime’s continued revenge against symbols of the Algerian Revolution, which broke out to object to the military rule and the rampant corruption in the country. We look forward that the new authorities start their reign by releasing all political detainees, putting an end to all human rights violations and building bridges of trust with citizens.”
ANHRI also called on the Algerian authorities to announce their condemnation of all forms of repression carried out by Bouteflika government and to immediately release all prisoners of conscience detained in Algerian prisons.
