Political leader imprisoned for speech

On 11 March 2020, the Ruisseau court in Algiers issued a verdict in first instance sentencing Karim Tabbou to 12 months in prison, of which 6 months were suspended. He was due to be released on 26 March 2020 having already served the 6 months in prison. The lawyers and prosecutor appealed the court's decision, and on 24 March 2020, Karim was brought before the judge of the Ruisseau court, for the appeal session in the absence of his defence team. He fainted before his lawyers arrived. The judge decided to issue a verdict in his absence of a one-year prison sentence and a fine of 50 000 dinars. 

In July 2013, the Algerian authorities refused to accord Karim Tabbou’s opposition party legal status. Tabbou has been an active figure in Hirak movement that started in Algeria a year ago in February 2019. His activism and political engagement made him a target of the authorities who arrested him on 12 September 2019. He was accused of “harming the army's moral” for a public speech he made in Algeria in May 2019. He was then released provisionally on 25 September 2019 and arrested again the next day on 26 September. 

Karim Tabbou is not the only political detainee in Algeria. Many other individuals suffer the same fate for expressing opinions or participating in protests, such as journalist Khaled Drareni and social civil activist Abdelouahab Fersaoui, currently held in pre-trial detention for speech. 

Please note that there is no email address for this target. you can send a copy of your letter to the Algerian embassy of your country. Details in the full UA.