By Shelagh Smith On 15 September an appeal court in Algiers sentenced journalist Khaled Drareni to a two-year prison sentence over his coverage of the Hirak protest movement. Two activists, Samir Benlarbi and Slimane Hamitouche, were each sentenced to a year in prison, eight months of which were suspended, in the same sham trial. The…
By Shelagh Smith An Algerian court on August 10 sentenced journalist Khaled Drareni to three years in jail. Drareni was charged with “inciting an unarmed gathering” and “endangering national unity” based on his Facebook posts. He had been detained since March awaiting trial. This harsh verdict is being widely condemned by Algerian and international human…
by Shelagh Smith This is an article from the current issue of Middle East Solidarity magazine – help us continue our work by donating £2 for a digital copy online Seventeen months after the protest movement, or Hirak, exploded onto the streets of Algeria in February 2019, there has been no fundamental change to the…
For the past year, a massive popular movement has repeatedly shaken Algeria. Shelagh Smith draws up a balance sheet. This is an article from the current issue of Middle East Solidarity magazine – help us continue our work by donating £2 for a digital copy online On 12 December 2019 a new president was declared…
In the Algerian province of Béjaia , grassroots democracy reached new heights in the four-day general strike in the run-up to the presidential election on 12 December. Middle East Solidarity spoke to university lecturer Kamel Aissat, an activist with the socialist PST party, about how organisation from below delivered an almost total shutdown of the…
On 12 December Algerians went to the polls to elect a new president – or did they? Millions boycotted the election, which they saw as illegitimate. Since February 2019, a huge protest movement has developed against the corrupt regime. Weekly demonstrations involving millions across the country keep demanding system change, a state based on the…
By Sheila Amrouche From Middle East Solidarity magazine, issue 12. Order a print copy or download as a pdf here The rising repression in Algeria has sparked an international campaign in defence of political prisoners. Trade unionists, MPs and activists in Spain, France, Portugal, Peru, Brazil, South Africa and Germany gathered outside Algerian embassies in…
Ten months since the mass movement erupted, hundreds of thousands still surge into the streets. Samir Larabi asks if the people or the old regime will emerge the winners from this contest? From Middle East Solidarity magazine, issue 12. Order a print copy or download as a pdf here Since 22 February 2019, Algeria has…
Hundreds of thousands of people filled the streets of the capital Algiers, joining millions all over the country in mass protests on Friday 11 October. Demonstrators are opposing the old regime’s attempt to hold presidential elections in December without changing the political status quo. They continue to demand a civil, not a military state, and…
By Anne Alexander As millions take to the streets on Friday 20 September for the global Climate Strike, activists in Algeria are gearing up for another Friday mobilisation. For the 31st time since February, tens of thousands are expected to march under the slogan “Système dégage!” (Down with the regime!) to demand an end to…
