Algeria: Human Rights Defender acquitted in retrial Government must end intimidation of Rights Activists
(New York, October 17, 2003) The acquittal yesterday of Algerian human rights activist Salaheddine Sidhoum was a
welcome step toward ending Algeria's record of intimidating those who work to protect human rights, Amnesty
International and Human Rights Watch said today.
The decision by a criminal court in Algiers came in a retrial of Sidhoum's earlier conviction in absentia, which had
resulted in a sentence of 20 years imprisonment.
"We are delighted that Salaheddine Sidhoum is now able to return to a life in freedom and hope that this is a positive
sign for human rights defenders in Algeria who must be able to carry out their work without interference or harassment,"
said June Ray, Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Program.
Sidhoum, a physician and human rights activist, lived in hiding since 1994 following threats against him allegedly by
both the security forces and armed groups. Wishing to clear his name and return to a normal life, he presented himself
to the public prosecutor in Algiers on September 29 and was remanded in custody to await a retrial on the charges
previously brought against him. He spent 10 days in Serkadji Prison in Algiers, most of the time on hunger strike, until
he left the court yesterday a free man.
Sidhoum's conviction in absentia was handed down in 1997 while he was still in hiding. He had been accused of
undermining the state, among other charges related to "acts of terrorism or subversion". The trial took place at a time
when Algeria's courts routinely and massively violated the right of defendants to a fair trial, especially those charged
with security offenses.
At the retrial, defense lawyers asserted that the court file contained only vague charges against Sidhoum but did not
connect him to any specific deeds. The file contained incriminating statements by others, but these were unpersuasive,
according to defense lawyers. The prosecutor argued yesterday that if Sidhoum had been in hiding all these years, he
must have been with an armed group. He asked the court to impose a seven-year prison sentence on Sidhoum. The court
deliberated for only about one hour before finding Sidhoum innocent on all charges. The court is expected to issue a
written decision in the case at a later date.
The trial was attended by journalists and international observers, including Tunisian lawyer Samir Ben Amor, who
represented Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. However, police and security officers cordoned off the area
around the courtroom and prevented access to members of the public, according to Ben Amor. Human rights organizations
have repeatedly expressed concerns about restrictions imposed by the Algerian government on human rights defenders in
their efforts to document and raise awareness about ongoing killings and torture, and the legacy of the past.
"Algeria faces an overwhelming problem of impunity for the most serious human rights violations committed over the past
decade," said Joe Stork, acting director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa division. "Tens of
thousands of killings and thousands of 'disappearances' remain uninvestigated to this day. The Algerian authorities
should do all they can to ensure that those working to protect human rights will not be subjected to arbitrary
restrictions, harassment or intimidation."
Background
Since the late 1980s Sidhoum has been documenting human rights violations and disseminating reports filled with details
of incidents of torture, summary executions and "disappearances" attributed to the security forces and their allies.
This work, which continued even while he was living clandestinely, helped to alert the international community to human
rights conditions in Algeria. He also published a chronology of killings committed over the past decade, including
killings of civilians committed by armed groups.
Sidhoum went into hiding in December 1994, not long after he gave an interview to a BBC documentary filmmaker in which
he denounced torture and summary executions attributed to the security forces. On December 18, 1994 - the day after the
documentary, "Algeria's Hidden War", aired on French television - three armed men in plainclothes who were believed to
be security officers came to Sidhoum's home in Algiers and demanded to see him. Upon being told that he was not home,
they threatened his 80-year-old aunt if she did not reveal his whereabouts, and then left.
Sidhoum's fears for his personal safety had already been aroused by an article in the September 22, 1994, edition of the
Algerian daily newspaper El-Watan that alleged that he belonged to a network of doctors providing medical care to
wounded militants. Some of the physicians mentioned in the article had already been placed in detention. One of them was
allegedly tortured, partly to extract a "confession" that Sidhoum was an Islamist supporter. That article appeared only
two weeks after Sidhoum had sent an open letter to Algerian President Lamine Zeroual that provided details on 53 cases
of alleged torture or summary executions.
Under international standards - including the United Nations Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals,
Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms - the
Algerian authorities have an obligation to ensure that human rights defenders are able to enjoy all their rights and
freedoms in practice and to carry out their work without harassment or intimidation.
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Human rights activist in hiding, take action! Visit http://amnesty-news.c.tep1.com/maabzrLaa1pU9bb0hPub/
Algeria: Steps towards change or empty promises? Read more in the Wire at http://amnesty-news.c.tep1.com/maabzrLaa1pVabb0hPub/