In Algiers, which was surrounded by an unprecedented security presence, the streets were deserted and the main alleys used as routes for demonstrators were completely cut off and occupied by police trucks and vehicles.
All the districts from which a large crowd of demonstrators usually set off after Friday prayers were surrounded by security forces deployed in force to prevent the demonstrators from starting their march towards Algiers-Centre.
A strong presence of plainclothes police was also noted, while the internet connection was seriously disrupted.
The National Committee for the Liberation of Prisoners (CNLD), a local observatory, reported several arrests of protesters in Algiers, as well as in other cities.
The Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD/opposition) party announced that its headquarters in Algiers had been surrounded by security forces, who prevented any gathering of people in Algiers Centre.
Just like last Friday, journalists worked in very difficult conditions. They were systematically prevented from filming and several of them were arrested.
According to media sources, the arrests numbered in the dozens in Algiers. At the end of the day, activist counts reported 500 arrests across several cities where there were attempts to march, such as Jijel, Khenchela, Tlemcen, Bordj Menaiel, Constantine, Oum El Bouaghi, Annaba, Skikda and Bouira.
Despite a tense climate, the marches of this 118th Friday were able to take place in the city of Tizi-Ouzou where a strong mobilization was noted, according to images broadcast on social networks.
The same atmosphere was felt in Béjaïa, where thousands of citizens also marched and numerous arrests were reported.
In Bouira, the other large city in Kabylie, the Hirak march was brutally repressed by the police deployed in force in the city center, under the pretext that the demonstration was not authorized.
Clashes broke out between protesters and security forces, who fired tear gas and used water cannons. Protesters responded with stone throwing.
This is the second consecutive Friday that the Algerian authorities have banned demonstrations. These bans come after the Algerian Interior Ministry’s decision to require that any march be subject to a prior declaration and declare its route and slogans to be chanted to the competent services.
Some 31 protesters arrested during the 117th Friday of Hirak were sentenced to prison terms during the week.
According to the Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights (LADDH), 23 demonstrators in Sétif (northeast) and eight in Bab El Oued, in Algiers, were tried and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 12 to 18 months.
According to the vice-president of LADDH, Saïd Salhi, who denounced these convictions, “the government has decided to put an end to the peaceful Hirak.”
Thirteen other protesters were detained pending trial, which was postponed to a later date, bringing the total number of protesters in custody to 44.
The courts of several Algerian cities have seen this week many demonstrators arrested during the 117th Friday after the violent prevention of the popular Hirak demonstrations.
According to human rights organizations, the arrests made during the repressed marches of the 117th Friday affected more than 1,000 people in 25 wilayas, including more than 300 in Algiers.
This is a record of arrests rarely equaled in the last 20 years, according to the same sources, who point out that we have to go back to the sinister episodes of the dark decade of the 90s to find figures or results as similar in terms of security repression.
The Hirak, the large-scale protest movement that ousted Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika from power after 20 years of unchallenged rule, resumed on February 22 after nearly a year of suspension due to the Covid-19 pandemic that is raging in Algeria and around the world.
2024-09-14 15:18:38