Young man lynched in Algeria: five minutes to understand a case that has become political

While in Algeria, Civil Protection teams succeeded on Wednesday in extinguishing all the fires that ravaged the north of the country and left 90 dead, the public has their eyes riveted on a case in the affair: that of the death of Djamel Ben Ismaïl, a man lynched to death last week after being accused, without evidence, of having started a forest fire.

The case, born after the broadcast on social networks of images showing the lynching orchestrated by an angry mob, took a political turn on Tuesday.

After several arrests carried out by the Algerian police, the latter ensures that a Kabyle independence movement, classified as terrorist, is at the origin of the tragedy.

And would also be behind the deadly fires that have affected the region.

Explanations.

What happened ?

While the flames still threaten many hectares of forest, last Wednesday, in the village of Larbaa Nath Irathen, epicenter of the fire, near Tizi Ouzou, in Kabylia, a man is suspected by locals of having tried to Start the fire.

Learning of these suspicions, Djamel Ben Ismaïl surrendered to the police.

But he will not have time to give his version of the facts completely.

As the police van transporting him to the police station moves through the village, a white-hot crowd gathered around him, and pulled him out of the vehicle after hitting him.

The man is then beaten by the crowd, then immolated, while young people take selfies in front of his corpse.

The images of his despicable death are circulating on social networks and arouse the indignation of the public, already shocked by the human and material losses, as well as the deficiencies of the public authorities highlighted during these fires.

Who was Djamel Ben Ismaïl?

Djamel Ben Ismaïl, 38, was an artist from the commune of Miliana, in the neighboring region of Aïn Defla.

He had volunteered in the village of Larbaa Nath Irathen to help put out the fires that killed at least 90 people in less than a week.

" I arrived yesterday (…).

I came to support my brothers.

They gave me a lesson in solidarity, courage and strength, ”he said in an interview with local television the day before his lynching.

His father, Noureddine Ben Ismaïl, later confirmed his son's plan to go to Kabylia to put out the fires.

He also appealed for calm.

"We do not want disturbances (...) He is your brother and he died a martyr," he said in a statement filmed to the media.

What happened to those responsible for the lynching?

According to the Algerian General Directorate of National Security (DGSN), 61 suspects were arrested for the lynching of Djamel Ben Ismaïl, during two series of arrests of 36 and then 25 people in several prefectures of the country. These suspects are "involved to varying degrees in the homicide, immolation and mutilation of a corpse, the destruction of property and the violation of a police headquarters," the police said in a statement. She attributes the death of Djamel Ben Ismaïl to an organization classified as terrorist, which she does not directly name, but which certain Algerian titles link to MAK, a Kabyle independence movement.

Why would he attack the young man?

The authorities do not say so, content to say that the exploitation of his phone allowed investigators to discover "astonishing information on the real motives for the murder of young Djamel Bensmaïl, which will be revealed by the courts later because of the secret of the investigation ”, according to the press release quoted by the TSA media.

What is MAK?

The Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylia (MAK) is an illegal organization in Algeria, based in Paris.

On its site, the movement describes itself as "an organization that transcends all political divisions", whose sole objective is "that of the realization of the right of the Kabyle people to build a democratic, social and secular state by asserting their right. to self-determination ”.

Born in the wake of the "Kabyle Spring" of 2001, a protest movement of the Berber-speaking community after the gunshot death of a high school student in a gendarmerie in Beni Douala, the MAK is one of the pet peeves of the regime which accuses it of "separatist" targets.

Last May, the MAK was also classified by the Algerian government as a terrorist organization, assuring that it aims "to destabilize the country and to undermine its security", in particular in the context of the legislative elections which took place. held in June.

Who is behind the forest fires?

The name of Djamel Ben Ismaïl is not the one favored by the authorities, for whom the majority of the fires which have struck Kabylia are of “criminal” origin, without however proof having been provided so far.

The investigation into the death of Djamel Ben Ismaïl made it possible to "discover that a criminal network, classified as a terrorist organization" is behind the fires, "according to the admission of its arrested members", assures the police.

Here again, the link is made with the MAK.

These announcements have raised questions, particularly within the Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights (LADDH).

“Are we heading for a political trial?

“Asked the association.

And she adds, through the voice of her vice-president, Saïd Salhi: "Only a fair trial is able to reveal the truth and do justice to Djamel".