A prominent figure from Algeria’s Hirak pro-democracy protest movement was among those on a Spain-bound migrant boat intercepted by the Algerian coastguard, a rights group said Tuesday. Media outlets in Algeria reported that the coastguard had intercepted a political activist among 14 people it detained on Sunday night off Oran, on the country’s northwest coast. […]
Algeria
Algerian human rights activist detained: family
Algerian human rights activist Fatiha Briki has been detained by authorities and no official reason has been given for her arrest, her family and a prisoners’ rights group said Monday. Briki, a retired university teacher and a member of prisoners’ rights group CNLD, was arrested on Thursday and her home searched, according to the CNLD. […]
Algeria to probe video of police beating protesters
Algerian police said Sunday they had opened an investigation after a video circulated online appeared to show protesters being beaten by security forces. Thousands of people took to the streets of the capital Algiers on Friday, the latest in weeks of rallies against the ruling class amid an ongoing political crisis in the country. In […]
In Algeria, conservatives weigh in against pressure for Western-style democracy
While tens of thousands of Algerians have been gathering for four months in the capital to demand sweeping political reforms, former fighters who led the last confrontation with the establishment have been warning people not to rock the boat. In the 1990s, they drove an uprising against the military after it cancelled a landmark multiparty […]
Hundreds of thousands protest against Algeria’s ruling elite
Hundreds of thousands of protesters demanding the departure of Algeria’s ruling elite rallied peacefully in Algiers for a tenth consecutive Friday. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika stepped down after 20 years in power this month, bowing to pressure from the army and weeks of demonstrations mainly by young people seeking change. “The system must go” and “We […]
Wit and grit: Algeria’s sizeable youth lead fight for change
They’re on the peaceful front line of the protest movement that toppled Algeria’s longtime ruler, facing down water cannons with attitude, memes — and fearless calls for shampoo. Oil-rich Algeria is one of the most youthful countries in the world with two-thirds of the population under 30. They are politically engaged, educated, on social media […]
Algerian protesters defy police to keep pressure on regime
Algerian police tried but failed to disperse a tide of protesters marching through Algiers Friday, despite the announcement of presidential elections to succeed ousted leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika. For the eighth Friday in a row, crowds flooded the Algerian capital’s main streets, although exact numbers remained hard to determine. There was no violence as riot police, […]
Protests keep up pressure on Algeria regime despite new president
Algerian demonstrators kept up protests Wednesday against the ruling elite despite a pledge from the interim head of state to hold “transparent” presidential elections following veteran leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s resignation. The army weighed in with assurances of its own, vowing to guarantee “transparency and integrity” during the transition. But it also warned against attempts to […]
Algeria’s parliament to elect new interim president on Tuesday: agency
Algeria’s parliament on Tuesday will elect a new interim president, state news agency APS said on Saturday, after veteran ruler Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned following mass protests. Bouteflika ended 20 years in power on Tuesday after a final nudge by the military, following six weeks of protests calling for democratic reforms after almost 60 years of […]
Algeria’s tidy revolutionaries: cleanup after mass protests
Here’s one way Algeria’s protest movement is unlike any other: After massive pro-democracy demonstrations every week, the protesters themselves roam the streets picking up bottles, papers and other detritus left behind. It’s a powerful symbol of the movement’s peaceful, hopeful spirit. And it’s no small task after events like the latest protest on Friday, when […]