Kaddour Chouicha Acquitted
On 3 March 2020, the Criminal Court of Oran acquitted human rights defender Kaddour Chouicha. He had been under conditional release since 7 January 2020, after being detained for 28 days.
On 18 February 2020, during a hearing held behind closed doors, the defence lawyers of Kaddour Chouicha presented their arguments before the Criminal Court of Oran. The Court postponed the ruling on the appeal lodged by the human rights defender until 3 March 2020.
On 28 January 2020, the Criminal Court of Oran postponed the appeal hearing of human rights defender Kaddour Chouicha until 18 February 2020.
On 7 January 2020, Kaddour Chouicha was conditionally released, after the Criminal Court of Oran accepted the request made by his lawyers to release the human rights defender due to his health conditions. The Court is due to review his case on 28 January 2020.
On 10 December 2019, the Criminal Court of Oran sentenced human rights defender Kaddour Chouicha to one year imprisonment, and a fine of 20000 Algerian Dinar (150 Euros), for participating in peaceful demonstrations.
Kaddour Chouicha is a human rights defender and university lecturer. He is the vice president of The Algerian League for The Defence of Human Rights (LADDH), and he is the president of the League in Oran, focusing on promoting political and civil rights in Algeria.
On 3 March 2020, the Criminal Court of Oran acquitted human rights defender Kaddour Chouicha. He had been under conditional release since 7 January 2020, after being detained for 28 days.
On 18 February 2020, during a hearing held behind closed doors, the defence lawyers of Kaddour Chouicha presented their arguments before the Criminal Court of Oran. The Court postponed the ruling on the appeal lodged by the human rights defender until 3 March 2020.
Update: On 28 January 2020, the Criminal Court of Oran postponed the appeal hearing of human rights defender Kaddour Chouicha until 18 February 2020.
On 7 January 2020, Kaddour Chouicha was conditionally released, after the Criminal Court of Oran accepted the request made by his lawyers to release the human rights defender due to his health conditions. The Court is due to review his case on 28 January 2020.
On 10 December 2019, the Criminal Court of Oran sentenced human rights defender Kaddour Chouicha to one year imprisonment, and a fine of 20000 Algerian Dinar (150 Euros), for participating in peaceful demonstrations.
Kaddour Chouicha is a human rights defender and university lecturer. He is the vice president of The Algerian League for The Defence of Human Rights (LADDH), and he is the president of the League in Oran, focusing on promoting political and civil rights in Algeria.
On the morning of 10 December 2019, Kaddour Chouicha entered a local police station in Oran, after he was asked to collect his mobile phone which was confiscated by the police in late October 2019, in connection to his participation in a peaceful demonstration. Instead of receiving his phone, he was detained and interrogated by the police. The human rights defender was not allowed to have his lawyer present during the interrogation and his new mobile phone was also confiscated.
After a few hours, he was transferred to Oran Criminal Court, where an urgent hearing was held for him. His lawyers were not allowed into the room. A second hearing was held on the same day after the lawyers complained against having been banned from the first one. The Court found him guilty of several charges, including “threatening the national security”, “incitement” and “illegal demonstration and disobedience”, and he was sentenced for one year imprisonment and a fine of 20000 Algerian dinar (150 Euros). Kaddour Chouicha suffers from chronic diseases that require specialised medical treatment which the prison does not offer.
Kaddour Chouicha has been repeatedly harassed by the Algerian authorities: he has been under police surveillance regarding his human rights work, and he was detained for almost 24 hours on 24 October 2019 in connection to his participation in a peaceful demonstration in Oran. His family members have also been harassed; his son was detained for three hours on 10 December 2019.
Front Line Defenders is deeply concerned regarding the sentence against human rights defender Kaddour Chouicha. Front Line Defenders believes that he is being targeted solely because of his peaceful and legitimate human rights activities.
