The Algerian bar association has maintained its strike throughout the country in protest against “constant political pressure” against them.
The National Union of Bar Associations scheduled a two-day court boycott in support of lawyers in the Algerian capital, who announced a strike “to protest against violations of the right to counsel.”
The Algeria Press Service reported that all trials scheduled on Wednesday were postponed.
Lawyer Abdelouahab Chiter told AFP that the strike was successful and lawyers committed to the decisions taken by the bar association.
According to Chiter, a lawyer and an instructor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Bejaia, the strike is taking place amid “extraordinary” circumstances, “arbitrary arrests” and a constitutional referendum that lacks the approval of the Hirak protest movement.
Algeria is readying for a constitutional referendum that the establishment says will usher in a "New Republic" and boost freedoms, but the opposition dismisses as window-dressing by a repressive regime.
The ruling authority wants to force the National Union of Bar Associations to support the referendum, continued Chiter. “It has turned to pressuring the lawyers after it was met with rejection.”
The lawyers decided to hold their strike after lawyer Abdelmadjid Selini, President of the Algiers Bar Association, was “insulted” by a judge in the capital, said the protesters. The incident was followed by a protest on Sunday and then the strike.
“The right to a defense is a sacred right that cannot be questioned under any circumstances,” the bar association said in a statement.
The Association also criticized the practice of holding trials remotely via video links, saying recent hearings “did not meet the criteria for a fair trial”.
