A prominent human rights watchdog urged Algeria on Tuesday to drop the charges against Salah Dabouz, an Algerian human rights lawyer who is facing prosecution for his anti-government Facebook posts, on the grounds they violate his right for free speech
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th May, 2019) A prominent human rights watchdog urged Algeria on Tuesday to drop the charges against Salah Dabouz, an Algerian human rights lawyer who is facing prosecution for his anti-government Facebook posts, on the grounds they violate his right for free speech."Algerian authorities should stop using repressive laws and crippling sign-in orders intended to shut down criticism of their conduct," Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a news release.
Dabouz, a former president of the Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights, faces a total of 14 counts, including charges for two Facebook posts in which he criticized the nation's courts for their rulings against the Mozabite ethnic minority.
According to the news release, Dabouz was arrested in Algiers on April 7 and transported to the court in Ghardaia, where judges notified him of two pending cases related to his posts. He was later released but put under judicial control, which meant that he had to report to the authorities in Ghardaia, located 600 kilometers (370 miles) away his home in the capital, three times a week he was initially required to report back twice a week.
HRW called this reporting requirement "onerous" and urged the Algerian authorities to clear Dobouz of all charges based on his right to free speech.
"The Algerian authorities should drop all charges against him that are based solely on the exercise of his free speech rights and end the onerous reporting requirement," the news release said.
In his Facebook post from September 13, 2018, Dabouz commented that the "judiciary in Ghardaia produces wonders and strange decisions that result in innocent people filling the prisons." Later on March 28, 2019, he posted about his intent to notify UN officials about "the politicized prosecutorial policy of the judiciary in Ghardaia and its discriminatory prosecutions against Mozabites."
The lawyers is also charged with inciting hatred, discrimination and participation in an armed gathering, contempt of court, offending the president, defaming state institutions, and disseminating information that went against national interests, among others.
The watchdog noted that while international law did allow governments to restrict speech if their intention was to prevent courts from being inappropriately influenced, such measures had to be clearly codified to ensure that criticism of the courts was not turned into a punishable offense.
In referencing the European Court of Human Rights' ruling from April 23, 2015, the watchdog stressed that the ban on speaking about courts must not amount to a restriction of the right to "draw the public's attention to the potential shortcomings in the justice system."
In case of Salah Dobouz, the NGO found no evidence suggesting that he incited violence or racial hatred or tried to improperly affect the courts via criticism of the Algerian judiciary.
For months now, Algeria has been going through a major political crisis. Mass demonstrations, both in Algeria and abroad, resulted in the resignation of its ailing 82-years-old wheel-chair bound president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and his elite. Incumbent interim President Abdelkader Bensalah has recently pledged openness to a dialogue with the opposition and civil society, especially young people and women.
