An Algerian anti-corruption activist who has written extensively about corruption in the North African country has been convicted of forgery. The ruling by Algerian court has been criticised by Human Rights organisations as an attempt to silence the voice of reason.
Djilali Hadjadj, has been accused of using his position as a doctor at the national health insurance organization to sign illegitimate medical certificates for his wife. His lawyer, Miloud Brahimi, said that Hadjadj was handed a six-month suspended sentence and a 50,000 dinar fine, and added that Hadjadj's wife was also given a two-month suspended sentence and a 20,000 dinar.
Munir Abbasi, an Algerian blogger and activist, told news agency Bikya Masr that the ruling is an attempt to “cover corruption with more corruption.”
“Now, what we are seeing is the government using the exact same tactics that Hadjadj was telling us they were doing. It is funny that the government would use the same exact methods of attempting to cover up this man's work by employing the same style of corruption and arrogance that he was trying to uncover,” he added.
Leading press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said it worried the case was “a pretext to silence a man who has ceaselessly denounced corruption in Algeria.”
Source: Bikya Masr
For more news and expert analysis about Algeria please see Algeria Focus and Algeria Politics & Security.
No comments:
Post a Comment