ALGERIA: ACTIVIST AND POET FACES FIVE YEARS IN PRISON

Your Excellency,

I write to you to urge you to ensure that the five-year sentence against peaceful activist and poet, Mohamed Tadjadit, is overturned, that all charges against him are dropped, and that he is released immediately and unconditionally.

On January 20, 2025, the Rouiba Court in Algiers sentenced renowned activist, Mohamed Tadjadit, known as the “poet of the Hirak”, to five years in prison and a DZD 200,000 fine (EUR 1,342).

On January 16, 2025, police arrested Mohamed Tadjadit and held him in custody for three days without visits from his family or a lawyer. On January 20, 2025, the Rouiba Court in Algiers sentenced renowned activist, Mohamed Tadjadit to five years in prison and a DZD 200,000 fine (EUR 1,342). Authorities tried Mohamed Tadjadit in expedited proceedings without sufficient time to prepare his legal defense, thus undermining his right to a fair trial.

Since 2019, the Algerian authorities have detained and prosecuted Mohamed Tadjadit in at least six separate cases, all related to his peaceful activism and expression of dissenting views.

I urge you to immediately and unconditionally release Mohamed Tadjadit, quash his conviction and sentence, drop other charges against him related to his exercise of his right to freedom of expression, and stop misusing the criminal justice system against him and other activists and artists.

Yours sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]