Many hoped for the release of journalist Khaled Drareni, sentenced to two years in prison last September and who has become the symbol of the fight for press freedom in Algeria.
It is now done.
The correspondent in Algeria for the TV5 Monde channel and Reporters Without Borders, benefited from a presidential pardon.
Indeed, the Algerian regime released on Friday more than 30 prisoners of conscience the day after a pardon granted by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune three days before the 2nd anniversary of the popular uprising of the Hirak.
"I would like to thank all those who supported me and all those who supported the opinion prisoners.
Your support is the proof of our innocence ”declared the journalist on his release from prison.
"He is free," Abdelaghani Badi, one of the lawyers for the correspondent in Algeria for the TV5 Monde channel and Reporters Without Borders (RSF), told AFP, adding that it was a measure of “provisional release”.
Hot reaction from Khaled Drareni in the car, on his way home to meet with relatives.
What a wonderful day.
UNFORGETTABLE.
✌️ pic.twitter.com/bOinFOJBff
- Moncef Ait-Kaci (منصف آيت قاسي) (@Moncefaitkaci) February 19, 2021
Tears of joy and Immense HAPPINESS to see our colleague Khaled Drareni finally FREE.
Welcome back @khaleddrareni 💪🏼 @DrareniFree
(Live Images FB - Radio M) pic.twitter.com/SmeMEQXzow
- Karine G. Barzegar (@kgbarzegar) February 19, 2021
“A total of 33 people have been released so far.
The procedures are underway for the rest, ”said a statement from the Ministry of Justice without specifying their names.
Photos and videos posted on social networks show detainees reuniting with their relatives in several regions of the country.
In front of the Koléa prison, west of Algiers, families, relatives, journalists and activists awaited the release of the prisoners.
“Grace only concerns people who have been judged definitively.
In many cases, such as those of Drareni or (the opponent) Rachid Nekkaz, there has not yet been a final judgment, ”Mostefa Bouchachi, lawyer and human rights veteran told AFP.
But according to him, it is possible that some detainees not yet tried will be released on bail, at the request of the authorities.
" Not enough "
Rachid Nekkaz, 47, incarcerated in El Bayadh prison (southwest), began a hunger strike on Friday to protest his prolonged detention, without trial, despite the deterioration of his health according to those around him.
He was also released this Friday evening.
"We want pardon to be a first step towards a real political transition where the people will be sovereign," lawyer Abdelghani Badi told AFP in front of Koléa prison.
In his speech to the nation on Thursday, Mr. Tebboune said: “The
blessed Hirak
saved Algeria.
I decided to grant a presidential pardon (…) Between 55 and 60 people will join their families ”by Friday evening.
According to the CNLD, some 70 people are in prison in connection with Hirak and / or individual freedoms.
"The people are not satisfied with the decisions of the government, we want to build an independent and free country, and this grace is far from sufficient", reacted to AFP Moussa Abdelli, a 57-year-old taxi driver.
On the other hand, several activists have welcomed these releases while the country is undermined by a triple political, economic and health crisis.
The day after his election in December 2019, Mr. Tebboune granted pardon to 76 detainees, including Hirak figures, released on January 2, 2020.
READ ALSO> Algeria: writer Kamel Daoud calls for the release of prisoners of conscience
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This new gesture of appeasement by the president, as soon as he returned from a long hospitalization in Germany, comes before the 2nd anniversary of Hirak, on February 22, 2019, which forced ex-strongman Abdelaziz Bouteflika to leave power.
Early elections
The Hirak, suspended since last March due to the health crisis, resumed its march a few days before the anniversary date.
On Tuesday, thousands of Algerians gathered in Kherrata (east), a city considered to be the cradle of the unprecedented uprising, to demand “the fall of the regime” and “the release of prisoners of conscience”.
According to activists, demonstrations also took place on Friday in Khenchela and Sétif (east) and calls for demonstrations on Monday throughout the country are circulating on social networks.
Police forces and riot vehicles were deployed in large numbers on Friday, the traditional day of the Hirak marches, in central Algiers.
"Apart from the release of the detainees [...], Tebboune still maintains his roadmap and his agenda to go to the legislative elections to complete the Hirak", deplores Saïd Salhi, vice-president of the Algerian League for the Defense of the Rights of the 'man (LADDH).
Mr. Tebboune promised to dissolve the National Assembly and to organize early legislative elections by the end of the year.
A cabinet reshuffle should also take place “within 48 hours at most”.
"By offering electoral perspectives and participation in political life, the president hopes to change the situation, and put political life back into the institutions to extract it definitively from the street", analyzes Abed Charef.
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