A Quebecer of Algerian origin cries out after her husband was arrested a week ago in Algeria as he was about to take a flight to Montreal to return home.
Posted at 6:00 a.m.
On January 29, Lazhar Zouaïmia, a Quebecer of Algerian origin, traveled to his native country. The expert technician at Hydro-Québec had accumulated his leave, in order to visit his relatives for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
“He spent the whole stay without any history. He reconnected with his family,” says his wife Fatima Benzerara. On February 19, a few hours before her return flight, she tries to reach him without success. It was agreed that she would pick him up when he arrived at the Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau airport in Montreal.
“I called him dozens of times and he didn’t answer. He didn’t fly,” the woman said. She had all kinds of scenarios. “I thought he had been the victim of a traffic accident or that he had been kidnapped. »
” Shocked ”
In the hours that followed, she received a call from her in-laws who reside in Algeria. She learned that her husband had been arrested by plainclothes agents at the airport in Constantine, in the east of the country, and was only allowed a local call. “He called his brother. He told her he had been arrested and he didn’t know why. They confiscated all his belongings,” she says.
Mme Benzerara hired a lawyer from the bar of Constantine to find out the reasons for his arrest. A few days later, the news fell: Lazhar Zouaïmia is formally accused of having supported and supported a terrorist group and of having praised terrorist acts on social networks. He has since been imprisoned in a prison in Constantine.
His wife is in shock. “It’s really incomprehensible,” she said. Her daughter and their loved ones are equally upset.
Not everyone who knows him can understand.
Fatima Benzerara, wife of Lazhar Zouaïmia
Mme Benzerara assures that her spouse has committed no wrongdoing and that he is in no way linked to a terrorist group. “We are Canadian citizens. We have been here for over 18 years. We both work for the government. We go back every two or three years to Algeria to see our family. I don’t understand why this happens to us. I don’t understand, ”laments the high school math teacher.
Appeal to the Canadian government
Mme Benzerara appeals to the Canadian government to intervene quickly so that her husband returns home as soon as possible. “My husband is in danger. It’s terrible,” she said.
For its part, Global Affairs Canada said it was informed that a Canadian citizen was detained in Algeria and said it remains in contact with local authorities to gather further information.
These accusations have no meaning and no basis, she argues.
In recent years, Mr. Zouaïmia, like thousands of Algerians in Canada, has participated in rallies for democratic and non-violent change in this North African country, explains his wife.
In February 2019, thousands of Algerians protested against President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s bid for a fifth term and a radical change in the political system in place since the country’s independence in 1962. Many Algerians, including Mr. Zouaïmia, are gathered regularly in the streets of Montreal to demand the democratization of the country.
Mme Benzerara fears her husband’s involvement may have led to her arrest. “I can’t find any other reasons that could explain it,” she says.
“A catastrophic situation”
At the start of the pandemic, their son Mehdi, then 21, died. Mr. Zouaïmia had taken advantage of his visit to Algeria to inaugurate a fountain he had had built in his hometown to honor the memory of his child.
“He was so happy with his trip. We were just waiting to meet all together, ”says Mme Benzerara. Their reunion never took place. “We lost our son not long ago. We barely manage to get our heads above water and it happens to us. It’s unimaginable. »
Since the arrest, the family has been shaken. “It’s really a catastrophic situation,” concludes Mr.me Similarly.