Former president of the opposition RCD party, Mohcine Belabbas was sentenced to 6 months in prison in connection with a case linked to the death of a Moroccan illegal worker.
President of the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD, opposition) from 2012 to 2022, Mohcine Belabbas was sentenced by a court in Algiers, on Sunday, March 24, to a six-month prison sentence and a fine of 100,000 dinars (around 680 euros). This conviction is accompanied by another fine of 50,000 dinars (340 euros) to be paid to the municipality of Gué de Constantine (suburb of Algiers), which had become a civil party.
Deputy for Algiers from 2017 to 2021, Mohcine Belabbas has been prosecuted since October 2021 for the offense of obtaining documents without the right, the offense of harboring a foreign national without authorization, and for employing a foreigner without authorization.
To these three charges was added that of involuntary homicide of a Moroccan national. Presented as an expert in the building trades, the worker in question died while carrying out construction work on the property of Mohcine Belabbas.
Karim Tabbou also sentenced
For the defense collective of Mohcine Belabbas, 53 years old, the constituent elements of these offenses are not present. “Mohcine Belabbas is paying the price for his political commitment during the “ Smile Revolution of February 22, 2019 ”, believes his lawyer, Me Sadat, who is also an RCD executive. This is a translation of the leaden screed that has fallen on rights and freedoms, although guaranteed by the fundamental law of the country.
Mohcine Belabbas is not the first opponent to be convicted. On Wednesday, March 13, Karim Tabbou, presented as one of the figures of Hirak, received a six-month suspended prison sentence and a fine of 50,000 dinars for “inciting an unarmed gathering ” and “defamation” after having called for unauthorized demonstrations. Mr. Tabbou leads the opposition Democratic and Social Union (UDS) party, which has not been approved by the authorities.
