Former Bouteflika prime minister jailed for corruption in Algeria

Aug. 24 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Nureddine Bedui, a former Prime Minister of the late Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, is in prison after an Algerian court annulled the decision to keep him under judicial surveillance with the withdrawal of his passport for a corruption case.

After being placed under judicial control by the Sidi-M’hamed municipal court last Sunday, a decision annulled by the Algiers court, the former prime minister has been imprisoned pending trial, thus joining two of his predecessors, who are behind bars, as reported by the newspaper Tout sur l’Algérie.

Nureddine, who was appointed as prime minister in March 2019, is being prosecuted for granting “over-the-counter” contracts to entrepreneurs without respecting the rules” during his tenure as governor in the city of Constantine, as reported by local media.

The other two imprisoned former ministers, Ahmed Uyahia and Abdelmalek Sellal, were sentenced on charges of corruption and abuse of authority — “punishable acts in relation to the conclusion of public tenders and contracts contrary to the regulations and laws in force”– to 15 years and twelve years in prison, respectively.

Numerous businessmen and others close to Bouteflika have been arrested since his departure from power. Justice has ensured that he works independently and without receiving orders, although these processes have not satisfied the demands of the protesters that caused the fall of the former president.