Latest news with #AlgiersJudicialCouncil
El Chorouk
20-05-2025
- Politics
- El Chorouk
Paris Foreign Minister Renews Appeal to Algeria in Sansal Case
While the French side insists, each time, that the French judiciary is sovereign and the executive authority has no influence over it, officials in Paris find no embarrassment in violating this principle, which is customary in democratic countries, by attempting to interfere in the affairs of the Algerian judiciary when it comes to France's interests. The latest chapter in this equation is what was issued by the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, on Tuesday, April 20, 2025, where he did not hesitate to delve again into the case of the Franco-Algerian writer, Boualem Sansal, which is considered among the issues that have exacerbated relations between the two countries. In an interview with Radio France Internationale 'France Inter', the head of French diplomacy expressed hope that the Algerian authorities would take a 'humanitarian gesture' in favor of the Algerian-French writer Boualem Sansal. It was notable in his speech that he spoke of 'the Algerian authorities', which is usually understood as a reference to the political decision-makers in the country. The French official's statement came on the occasion of the start of the first sessions of the trial of the Franco-Algerian writer, who is accused of undermining the territorial integrity of the country, at the level of the Algiers Judicial Council, which decided to postpone the trial until June 24, with the verdict to be announced on July 1, 2025. Jean-Noël Barrot said: 'I am very concerned about his health. He is an elderly and frail man,' and he went on to comment: 'For this reason, I hope that he will be tried as soon as possible, and if possible in the next few days, so that after this ruling, a humanitarian gesture can be made towards him, a gesture that we have called on the Algerian authorities to make.' This is not the first time that such statements have been issued by French officials, from the highest official, represented by the master of the Elysée Palace, Emmanuel Macron, to his Prime Minister, François Bayrou, and his Interior Minister, Bruno Retailleau, and officials and deputies in both houses of parliament. However, the Algerian side has not responded to these demands, but rather considered them a blatant interference in the judicial affairs of a sovereign state. The Algerian judiciary had sentenced Boualem Sansal, who has been imprisoned since mid-November, to five years in prison on March 27, following statements Sansal made to the far-right channel 'Frontières'. These statements were interpreted by the Algerian judiciary as causing serious harm to the territorial integrity of the country, in addition to being contrary to historical truth and the reality on the ground. They were also severely criticized by the French historian, Benjamin Stora, who refuted them with irrefutable and undeniable evidence. The French minister's statements came in the context of an unjustified French escalation regarding this issue. On May 6, the French National Assembly (the lower house of parliament) adopted a parliamentary resolution calling for the 'immediate release' of the Franco-Algerian writer. The deputies also urged, through that resolution, the European Union to pressure Algeria to release Boualem Sansal, and also urged Brussels to condition any cooperation with Algeria on the release of the convicted writer. According to observers, the French foreign minister's statement will have no effect on the case of the Franco-Algerian writer, as long as Paris continues its provocations against Algeria, by targeting its consular interests (kidnapping and imprisoning consular officials outside diplomatic norms and the provisions of the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations), in addition to violating bilateral agreements in the diplomatic field, not to mention the continuous harassment of the Algerian community.
El Chorouk
04-02-2025
- El Chorouk
Kamel Chikhi's Cocaine Scandal Before Justice on June 15
The Algerian judicial authorities will open the heaviest case related to the smuggling of hard drugs 'cocaine', in which Kamal Chikhi, known as 'Le Boucher' (the butcher), is being prosecuted on June 15, where the defendants in the file will appear before the Criminal Court of First Instance in Dar El Beida, Algiers, for importing, exporting and storing drugs within an organized criminal gang and money laundering. After 7 full years have passed since the scandal known as 'The Butcher and Cocaine', the case returns to the forefront through the programming of the huge file, as a transcontinental crime on June 15, where, according to the referral decision, Kamal Le Boucher will appear alongside his two brothers, 'Nacer and Mohamed Chikhi', along with the main accused's partner, who is considered his relative called 'B. Nadjib', who are currently in temporary detention in Algiers Harrache penal institution. The 'Butcher and Cocaine' file was referred by the investigating judge of the ninth chamber of the Sidi M'hamed Court on May 23, 2021, to the Public Prosecutor of the Algiers Judicial Council, who in turn referred it to the indictment chamber of the same judicial body, which in turn rejected on June 30, 2021, the requests of the defence established in the case, including requests to release all the accused detained in the case, to finally decide to refer the file to the Criminal Court of First Instance in Dar El Bida. According to the information of the case, the owner of the transit office in charge of the legal procedures for the meat shipments imported by Kamal Chikhi Company, known as 'El-Bouchi', stated during the investigation with him that the serial number of the container carrying the cocaine shipment was not included in the serial numbers recorded in all the documents related to the meat shipment coming from Brazil. As for the numbers, the investigation documents stated that the cocaine shipment consisted of 603 plates of white powder packed inside 34 boxes, with a total weight of '701 kg', and each box weighed 820 grams. The investigations revealed that 590 plates were covered with a transparent plastic outer cover, while the remaining plates, estimated at 13, were without an outer cover. Over 40 unused red waterproof bags, 15 water lamps, two iron chains, two ropes, a battery for operating the water lamps, two adhesive plastic tapes, and administrative files of the company under investigation, owned by the suspect Kamel Chikhi, were also found. The technical report revealed that six samples were analysed. Technical expertise showed that the suspected substance was cocaine with a purity of 85%, intended for wholesale trade, and is not consumed until after it is processed, where its weight increases 10 times, which means that the cocaine shipment when processed in the laboratory to prepare it for consumption weighs 70 quintals. The Ministry of Defense had confirmed, in a statement at the time, that 'the border guards, in coordination with the National Gendarmerie and Customs, foiled an attempt to smuggle a huge amount of cocaine reaching 701 kg in the wilaya of Oran (Western Algeria).' The seized drugs are the largest quantity seized in Algeria since 2012 when 165 kilograms of cocaine were seized, smuggled with milk powder imported from New Zealand.
