French-Algerian political activist and journalist Amira Bouraoui, arrested in Tunisia and about to be deported to Algeria, is now "
under the protection of the French authorities
", her French lawyer François Zimeray told AFP.
She is "
free and in good health
", rejoiced her Tunisian lawyer, Hashem Badra, also interviewed by AFP.
Me Zimeray also “
welcomed the mobilization of the French authorities
” for his client, who was subject to a ban on leaving the territory and risked having to serve a two-year prison sentence in Algeria.
Arrest at the airport
Arrived in Tunisia on Friday February 3, she had been "
arrested when she was trying to board a flight for France with her French passport
", Me Badra had indicated a few hours earlier.
This 46-year-old doctor by training was then placed in pre-trial detention until her appearance before a judge on Monday, who decided to release her, adjourning her case to February 23, he said.
Despite this, however, she was taken to a border police station in Tunis with a view to "
being deported to Algiers
" on Monday evening, the Tunisian lawyer regretted, recounting having seen her "
crying
" "
in a cage glass
”.
Contacted by AFP, the Tunisian Ministry of the Interior was unable to confirm or deny this information.
Complaint for kidnapping-forcible confinement
"
My client was the subject of an attempted kidnapping and sequestration by certain authorities responsible for law enforcement in Tunisia, at the request of the Algerian authorities
", had previously denounced François Zimeray, former French ambassador. in Denmark.
“
I let it be known this afternoon that I would not hesitate to file a complaint with the Paris public prosecutor's office for kidnapping-forcible confinement if she was not immediately released knowing that, under French law, arbitrary detention committed by an agent agent of law enforcement is a crime.
And that when this crime is committed abroad on a French citizen, the French courts are competent
, ”he threatened.
According to an official of the office of the NGO Human Rights Watch in Tunis, which was seized of the case, Amira Bouraoui should "
under no circumstances
" be sent back "
to a country where she was imprisoned and is the subject of a series of lawsuits for his peaceful activism and opinions
”.
The site of the Algerian media Radio M, where she had hosted a political program since September, had also reported the arrest of Amira Bouraoui by the border police in Tunisia, and her "
extradition
" scheduled for Monday evening February 6 around the 'Algeria.
Read alsoIn Tunisia, democracy is broken down
"
Known since her involvement in the 'Barakat' movement in 2014, which led a campaign against the fourth term of the late President, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, she has tried several times to leave the national territory in recent months to visit her son, established in France, but to no avail
,” according to the site.
Amira Bouraoui had been imprisoned in 2020 on several charges.
She was released in July 2020. She is facing a two-year prison sentence for "
offending
" Islam for comments made on her Facebook page.
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/3YAXWGVZTFB6LAZHB6LUMQHDZI.JPG)
