Contact: Sharon Singh, [email protected], 202-675-8579, @AIUSAmedia
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – The conviction of an activist in Algeria after he distributed leaflets about unemployment in the country is a worrying sign that a
new law regulating associations is being used to restrict civil society groups’ activities, Amnesty International said.
On May 6, Abdelkader Kherba, a member of the Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights (LADDH) and the National Committee for the Defense of the
Rights of the Unemployed (CNDDC) was sentenced to a two-month suspended prison term and a fine of 20,000 Algerian dinars (about USD 250) for distributing
leaflets on unemployment in Algeria in June 2011.
He had been previously harassed by the authorities because of his work on behalf of unemployed people or in support of trade-unionists.
“The latest court case against Abdelkader Kherba is yet another example of how the authorities in Algeria are misusing the law and the judicial system to
intimidate those who advocate for social and economic rights,” said Ann Harrison, Amnesty International’s deputy director for the Middle East and North
Africa. “If this sentence is not quashed, it will send the message that the new law on associations will be used to further restrict activists and groups who
peacefully campaign on issues the authorities may regard as a threat.”
“This conviction is an attempt to prevent me and other activists to continue our peaceful actions. It is a way to increase pressure on us,” Abdelkader
Kherba told Amnesty International.
Algeria has seen protests over poverty, unemployment and corruption increase during the past two years and a number of activists and trade unionists have
faced judicial harassment and prosecution simply for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly.
Although Algeria lifted its 31-year state of emergency in 2011 amid region-wide anti-government demonstrations, civil society groups and human rights
activists continue to suffer threats and harassment from the authorities, and the government has introduced new laws restricting the media and NGOs.
In May 2012, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association stated that persons involved in unregistered
associations should be free to carry out activities, including the right to hold and participate in peaceful assemblies, and should not be subject to
criminal sanctions.
In March 2013, the Algerian authorities prevented a delegation of trade unionists and civil society activists, including members of the LADDH and the
CNDDC, from crossing the border into Tunisia to attend the World Social Forum, violating their right to freedom of movement, also provided for by the
ICCPR.
Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 3 million supporters, activists and volunteers in
more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and
works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.