Algeria: The OIAD condemns the lawsuits and harassment of lawyers and human rights defenders in Algeria
24 March 2025
Omar Boussag, Sofiane Ouali and Toufik Belala are lawyers and human rights defenders in Algeria. They are members of the Collective for the Defence of Hirak Detainees[1] and are committed to the protection of fundamental freedoms. All three are victims of intimidation and prosecution because of their commitment.
Prosecution of Omar Boussag
Mr Omar Boussagis a lawyer at the Oran Bar and was prosecuted for publications on Facebook criticising the government in power. On 26 February 2024, he was sentenced in absentia to six months’ imprisonment and a fine of 500,000 Algerian dinars for “contempt of court” and “incitement to unarmed assembly”. After he opposed the judgement, he was retried on 8 July 2024, when a three-month prison sentence was requested against him. On 15 July 2024, he was fined 50,000 dinars.
Arrest and prosecution of Mr Sofiane Ouali
Mr Sofiane Ouali is a lawyer at the Béjaïa Bar. He was arrested on 10 July 2024 in Béjaïa as part of a wave of mass arrests. His home was searched, and his computer confiscated. He was transferred to Algiers along with 14 other people arrested to be brought before the court of Sidi M’Hamed.
On 18 July 2024, he was charged with alleged support for a terrorist organisation and dissemination of content considered a threat to national security[2], as well as money laundering. The investigating judge ordered his provisional release, a decision confirmed by the indictment division on 29 July 2024.
Conviction and legal proceedings against Mr Toufik Belala
Mr Toufik Belala, a human rights lawyer at the Blida Bar, was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment by the Boufarik court for “publishing false news”. He was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment and appealed against this sentence to the Court of Blida, supported by numerous lawyers who denounced an attack on his commitment to human rights.
Before his conviction, Mr Belala had been summoned several times by the police between April and July 2024. During these summonses, he refused to hand over his telephone, invoking professional secrecy protected by article 24 of the law on the legal profession.
The prosecution and intimidation of Omar Boussag, Sofiane Ouali and Toufik Belala are part of a climate of increased repression against lawyers, activists and journalists in Algeria. Other lawyers are also targeted by this repression:
- MrAbderraouf Arslane, who was imprisoned for more than a year and sentenced to a prison term in June 2022 for defending Hirak activists and expressing his opinions online;
- MrAbdelkader Chohra and Mr Yacine Khelifi, arrested and prosecuted in May 2022 for protesting against the suspicious death of a prisoner of conscience, and sentenced in August 2022 to a six-month suspended prison sentence;
- MrMohamed Chahid, a 72-year-old lawyer, held in pre-trial detention despite his elderly age and the loss of contact with his family for several months, prosecuted under arbitrary criminal charges;
- MrMourad Zenati, banned from leaving the territory without official notification and prosecuted for ‘undermining national unity’ and ‘inciting an unarmed gathering’;
- MrMounir Gharbi, sentenced in absentia in February 2025 to three years in prison, including two years without parole, for a Facebook post criticising the national press’s handling of the news.
In view of this situation, the Observatory strongly condemns the legal proceedings and acts of intimidation against Algerian lawyers who are courageously practising their profession.
The Observatory urges the Algerian authorities to drop all charges against them and to guarantee that they can practise their profession as lawyers without hindrance or intimidation.
The Observatory denounces the systematic repression of lawyers and human rights defenders in Algeria, which seriously threatens the independence of the Bar and freedom of expression.
The Observatory calls on the Algerian State to comply with the basic principles of the United Nations relating to the role of the Bar, in particular principles 16, 18 and 23:
“Governments shall ensure that lawyers (a) are able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference; (b) are able to travel and to consult with their clients freely both within their own country and abroad; and (c) shall not suffer, or be threatened with, prosecution or administrative, economic or other sanctions for any action taken in accordance with recognized professional duties, standards and ethics.” (Principle 16)
“Lawyers shall not be identified with their clients or their clients’ causes as a result of discharging their functions.” (Principle 18)
“Lawyers like other citizens are entitled to freedom of expression, belief, association and assembly. In particular, they shall have the right to take part in public discussion of matters concerning the law, the administration of justice and the promotion and protection of human rights and to join or form local, national or international organizations and attend their meetings, without suffering professional restrictions by reason of their lawful action or their membership in a lawful organization. In exercising these rights, lawyers shall always conduct themselves in accordance with the law and the recognized standards and ethics of the legal profession.” (Principle 23)
[1] The Collective for the Defence of Hirak Detainees, formed in July 2019 after the first wave of arrests, voluntarily and tirelessly defends those arbitrarily prosecuted, particularly those from marginalised backgrounds who cannot afford legal support.
[2] Algerian Penal Code, Articles 87 bis 4 and 87 bis 12.
