MAK, Rachad Are Not Terrorist Organizations, US State Dep.

The US State Department slammed, in its report, the Algerian authorities for classifying the Kabylie Self-Determination Movement (MAK) and the Islamist movement Rachad as terrorist organizations.
The Algerian regime added the two movements to the “terrorist group list” in 2021.
The US deemed both labels more political than security-related, given that both groups are fiercely critical of the government and do not appear to have conducted what the US considers terrorist acts.
Algerian authorities have notably eschewed discussing these groups or the alleged threats they pose in CT-related engagement with the United States.
According to the report, the government occasionally charged people with terrorism for what appeared to be nonviolent activism.
Algeria revised its penal code in 2021 to widen the scope of terrorist activities and to develop a national list of terrorist individuals and entities. The authorities used the new changes to jail political activists and outspoken critics of the government.