The President of Algeria grants “grace measures” to more than 8,500 detainees

July 5 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The President of Algeria, Abdelmayid Tebune, has signed two decrees to grant “grace measures” to more than 8,500 detainees on the occasion of the celebration of the Youth Independence Festival, a decision that will not affect, among others, those sentenced for terrorism, murder, espionage and conspiracy and corruption.

The Algerian Presidency has indicated in a statement published on its website that the president “has signed two presidential decrees, after consultations with the Superior Council of the Magistracy (CMS), with measures of grace for common crimes in favor of 8,537 detainees”.

Thus, it has highlighted that this measure “brings the number of beneficiaries of presidential grace measures during the last three years to 145,739 detainees”, before adding that “another 282 detainees for libel and defamation have benefited from measures to reduce their sentence “.

On the other hand, it has affected that among those excluded there will also be people convicted of identity theft, kidnapping, human or organ trafficking, assaults on officials, assaults on minors, drug trafficking, qualified robbery and those firmly sentenced for counterfeiting, speculation and monopoly.

Tebune came to power after the 2019 elections, held months after the historic Algerian leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika was forced to resign in April of that year after a wave of protests against his intention to run for a fifth term despite being incapacitated by health reasons.

The protests, which also demanded a democratic opening in the African country, have continued after the arrival of Tebune to the Presidency. Since then, the authorities have made numerous arrests of activists, opponents and journalists, which has provoked criticism from international organizations and non-governmental organizations.