Calls have mounted in Algeria for the sacking of the justice minister after activist Walid Nekiche told the judiciary that the internal security service had tortured him during his detention in 2019.
His lawyers filed a complaint to the public prosecution demanding an investigation into the case.
Defense Attorney for the protest movement, or Hirak, detainees Zoubida Assoul, has demanded the resignation or dismissal of Justice Minister Belkacem Zghemati because he is in charge of the judiciary.
Zghemati has not taken any action to prove the rule of law in several grave incidents, stressed Assoul, who is also the head of the small opposition Union for Change and Progress party.
Vice President of the League for the Defense of Human Rights (LADDH) Said Salhi said the complaint “should take its course ... the law should be respected and the judiciary must say its word.”
Human rights activists are awaiting a response from the prosecution and the public authorities, especially from the minister of justice, he noted.
Nekiche, a university student, recalled the details of his seven-day detention at the Internal Security headquarters.
He was held for allegedly belonging to a separatist tribal organization in eastern Algeria, encouraging the Hirak protesters to “carry arms against the authorities,” and plotting to thwart the 2019 presidential elections.
He strongly denied the claims.
During a trial earlier this month, Nekiche said he was tortured to confess to these crimes, revealing that he was sexually assaulted during the interrogations.
He was released after the Algiers criminal court sentenced him to one year in prison. He had effectively been held for 14 “of hell” months in jail.
He said that he was arrested without knowing the reason during a protest in Algiers.
