Algeria: Escalating Repression of Protesters

(Beirut, November 13, 2019) – Algerian authorities have arrested scores of pro-democracy movement activists since September 2019, Human Rights Watch said today. Many remain detained on vague charges such as “harming national unity” and “undermining the morale of the army.” The authorities should immediately and unconditionally release the peaceful activists and respect the rights to free speech and assembly of all Algerians.




“This spate of arrests looks like part of a pattern of trying to weaken opposition to Algeria’s interim rulers and their determination to hold presidential elections on December 12,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The authorities are claiming that the planned elections usher a new era of democracy in Algeria, but there is nothing democratic about this widespread crackdown on critics.”