Twenty years in prison have been requested by the prosecution against Said Bouteflika, brother and ex-adviser of the ousted president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, two former intelligence bosses and a political party official, who have been on appeal since Sunday in Algeria, according to lawyers.
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The four accused, in detention since their arrest in May 2019, were sentenced to 15 years in prison in September for conspiracy against military authority and against the authority of the state by a military court. The hearing in camera resumed Monday morning before the Military Court of Appeal of Blida, about fifty km south of Algiers, and the morning was mainly devoted to the indictment, told AFP Me Farouk Kessentini , lawyer for General Mohamed Lamine Mediene, known as " Toufik ". The latter headed for 25 years, until his dismissal in 2015, the sprawling Department of Intelligence and Security (DRS), structurally attached to the army but in reality a true " State in the State ".
Monday morning, the defense of Louisa Hanoune, general secretary of the Workers' Party (PT, Trostkist) and close to the Bouteflika family, composed of nine lawyers, also began to plead and demand the acquittal, AFP told AFP 'one of these defenders, Me Boudjemaâ Guechir. In the box, alongside General Mediene and Mrs. Hanoune, Saïd Bouteflika, 62, was the influential special advisor to his brother Abdelaziz during his 20 years as president (1999-2019). His power had strengthened, to the point of being considered as the " president-bis ", as the health of the head of state declined, victim in 2013 of a stroke which left him paralyzed and aphasic.
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The 4th accused, General Athmane "Bachir" Tartag, ex-right-hand man of " Toufik ", to whom he had succeeded by taking the head of the Coordination of Security Services (CSS), structure which replaced the dismantled DRS, has as the day before refused to appear on Monday. The four are accused of having met in March 2019 to develop a "destabilization plan" for the army high command who then publicly demanded the departure of President Bouteflika to get out of the crisis born of the "Hirak", a powerful popular movement contesting plan, appeared on February 22.
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According to the prosecution, Saïd Bouteflika intended to rely on the former intelligence bosses to dismiss the army chief of staff, General Ahmed Gaïd Salah, hitherto unwavering support of the head of state who had appointed him to this post in 2004. Abdelaziz Bouteflika finally resigned on April 2, 2019, a few hours after an ultimatum from the army staff asking for his departure " immediately" .