“We are increasingly concerned about the situation in Algeria where the rights to freedom of opinion and expression, peaceful assembly and participation in marches continue to be threatened,” denounced the spokesperson for the High Commission, Rupert Colville, during a press briefing in Geneva.
Since the resumption of street protests on February 13, after a year of online protests by the Hirak movement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, “we have received reports of the unnecessary and disproportionate use of force against peaceful protesters, as well as continued arrests,” he continued.
“Currently, about 70 people are still reportedly detained for exercising their legitimate human rights. Some of them are serving long sentences while others are in pretrial detention. New allegations of physical and sexual violence in detention have also surfaced in recent days,” he listed.
“Over the past two months, activists, human rights defenders, students, journalists, bloggers and ordinary citizens peacefully expressing their dissent have continued to face criminal prosecution. Hirak activists continue to be prosecuted under overly broad laws, even after the announcement of a presidential pardon in February of this year,” Colville said.
“We urge the Algerian authorities to stop using violence to disperse peaceful protests and to end arbitrary arrests and detention of people who have exercised their rights to freedom of opinion, expression and peaceful assembly,” he said.
In this regard, he denounced the restrictions and acts of intimidation against protesters. “On four occasions in April and May, student marches were prevented: the authorities continued to block access to the gathering points of the demonstrations; hundreds of protesters or anyone whom the security forces assumed to be a protester were arbitrarily arrested,” he said.
“Some protesters were reportedly detained and then released after being forced to sign a document promising not to participate in the protests again,” he said.
The OHCHR called on the Algerian authorities to “cease all forms of harassment and intimidation” against people participating in the Hirak movement.
He further called for “prompt, impartial and effective investigations into all allegations of human rights violations (…) and to ensure that victims obtain reparations.”
He also called on the Algerian authorities “to review the Penal Code and other repressive laws, including Law 12-06 on associations and Law 91-19 on public meetings and demonstrations, to bring them into line with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, both ratified by Algeria.”
2024-09-17 05:30:21