Algiers: Fethi Ghares, a leading opposition figure in Algeria, was arrested by Algerian authorities on Tuesday, according to reports from his wife and the Algerian prisoners’ rights group CNLD.
The leader, once the head of the now-banned left-wing Democratic and Social Party, was apprehended by plainclothes officers at his home in the capital Algiers.
His wife, Messaouda Cheballah, also a politician, shared a video on Facebook in which she said police claimed to be taking Ghares for “questioning” without presenting an official summons.
She was reportedly told he would be taken to a nearby police station, but was told at the scene that he had not been brought.
Authorities have yet to issue an official statement regarding his arrest. The incident comes as Algeria prepares for presidential elections on September 7.
This is not Ghares’ first brush with the law. In 2021, he was arrested and sentenced to prison on charges including insulting the president.
In January 2022, he was sentenced to two years in prison for “attacking the president” and “disseminating information prejudicial to national unity.” He was released in March 2022 after his sentence was reduced on appeal.
Ghares, a leading figure in Algeria’s left-wing secular opposition, participated in the 2019 Hirak movement, a series of mass protests that led to the ouster of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. His party, the Democratic and Social Movement, the successor to the Algerian Communist Party, was banned in February 2023.
The arrest raises questions about Algeria’s respect for civil liberties and highlights ongoing tensions between the government and the political opposition in the country.
The Ghares case highlights the challenges faced by human rights activists and democracy advocates in Algeria, and underscores the importance of protecting fundamental freedoms in an often tense political climate.
In the face of these developments, the international community must closely monitor the situation in Algeria and exert pressure to ensure respect for human rights and individual freedoms in the country.