Sofiane Chouiter, Algerian lawyer and expert on international law, said that European parliamentarians’ condemnation of human rights violations committed in Algeria and their call to reconsider the partnership between the EU and Algeria refutes the allegations of “authorities claiming respect for international law” and “disproves President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s claims regarding the non-existence of prisoners of opinion in Algeria.”
He also stated that “European parliamentarians’ sounding the alarm about the deteriorating human rights situation in Algeria can be considered a warning to the Europen Union’s state members after the noticeable rapprochement with Algeria in an attempt to find a solution to the gas crisis they are facing.”
Chouiter emphasized “the importance of the step taken by European parliamentarians” because “it reveals to the world the continuing violations of human rights in Algeria and exposes the crimes of the authorities that contravene all international norms and conventions.”
Saïd Zahi, lawyer, human rights activist, and member of the Collective of the Defense of Hirak Detainees, said that the “human rights situation in Algeria is catastrophic,” marking “the restrictions imposed by the Algerian authorities on individual and collective freedoms in the country.”
The same speaker considered that “the message sent by 13 European parliamentarians on human rights violations in Algeria is a positive thing”, noting that “the majority of parliamentarians belong to opposition parties in their own countries.”
Zahi referred to what he called “the hypocrisy of European governments and the European Union in their handling of the Algerian human rights issue” and pointed out that “Algeria is witnessing a reaction of human rights defenders today amid an official European silence.” Zahi stressed that the Algerian President’s talk on human rights is empty words that are far from realistic.”
Zahi demanded that “Algerians who have been harmed by the abuse of power file complaints with applicable laws,” considering this to be a “key to change in the country.” The same speaker criticized “the silence of political parties on the reality of violations in Algeria,” stressing that “the country’s political class is part of the corrupt system.”
The former prisoner of conscience and Algerian human rights activist Brahim Laalami said that he “lived through injustice and aggression in Algeria’s prisons,” denouncing “the repression of Algerian youth simply for expressing their opinion and the doubling of arrests, which had reached unprecedented levels.” He cautioned that “perpetuating the security grip would add to the public outrage,” warning of an imminent explosion of the situation in the country.