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In Algeria, three young activists, including “Hirak’s poet” condemned.

Mohamed Tadjadit, Noureddine Khimoud and Abdelhak Ben Rahmani, who were in detention, were able to leave their prison on Thursday after having already served their sentences. They were tried in particular for undermining national unity.

Three young Algerian activists, including the “Hirak’s poet”, the anti-regime protest movement, were sentenced, Thursday, January 21, by a court in Algiers to prison terms, according to an association supporting prisoners of conscience .

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The three men – Mohamed Tadjadit (26), a known figure in the protest, Noureddine Khimoud (25) and Abdelhak Ben Rahmani (38) -, who were in preventive detention, were able to leave their prison on Thursday after having already served their sentences, said the National Committee for the Release of Prisoners (CNLD) on its Facebook page. They were tried in particular for undermining national unity.

A known figure in the dispute, Mohamed Tadjadit was sentenced to six months in prison, including four months firm, Noureddine Khimoud to four months firm and Abdelhak Ben Rahmani to three months, according to the CNLD. The Bab el-Oued court prosecutor had requested, on January 14, two years in prison against the three detainees.

Participation in an anti-regime rally
Mohamed Tadjadit and Noureddine Khimoud had been in detention since the end of August 2020. They had been arrested the day after their participation in an anti-regime rally organized at the Kasbah of Algiers. Abdelhak Ben Rahmani was arrested in early October.

Nicknamed the “Hirak’s poet” for his verses recited during demonstrations or shared on Facebook, Mohamed Tadjadit was sentenced at the end of 2019 for “attacking the national interest”.

Ten charges were against the three men, including undermining national unity, inciting unarmed assembly, insulting the President of the Republic and spreading false news, according to the CNLD. These charges were based in particular on their messages and videos relayed on social networks.

The CNLD also announced Thursday that anti-regime activist Dalila Touat, sentenced on January 18 to eighteen months in prison, had stopped the hunger strike she had been observing since January 3 after a visit from her lawyers.

Some 80 people are currently imprisoned in Algeria for their participation in the Hirak protest movement. Prosecutions based in at least 90% of cases on publications critical of the authorities on social networks, according to the CNLD.

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