Algerian socialist organisation, the Parti Socialiste des Travailleurs (Socialist Workers Party) has been banned by the Algerian government in the latest round of a crackdown which is targeting a wide range of activists involved in struggles for political change and social justice. Three years after the eruption of the Hirak, a mass popular movement which brought down corrupt president Abdelaziz Bouteflika in March 2019, over 250 activists have been detained for their beliefs. 

The latest wave of repression has also hit political parties. The PST, which was founded in 1970, was ordered by the State Council on 20 January to cease operating, exposing its activists to the threat of arrest and detention for carrying out “illegal” activities. The party’s activists include trade unionists and students who are involved in numerous social and political struggles ranging from mobilising solidarity for the strikes by Numilog transport workers to defending political prisoners jailed by the regime for organising the Hirak. 

We stand in solidarity with the PST and other Algerian parties, movements and trade unions facing repression from an Algerian regime which wants to shut down dissent in order to hide its own corruption.

We call on activists around the world who are fighting for social justice to join us in condemning this attack. 

MENA Solidarity Network 

What you can do: 

• Send a message of solidarity to the PST on Facebook https://m.facebook.com/PSTDZ 
• Write a letter of protest to the Algerian authorities via the embassy in your country. Email for London embassy (info@algerianembassy.org.uk)