Abdelaziz Bouteflika - The African Mirror

Sep

2021

Algeria’s former President Bouteflika dies at 84

FORMER Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has died at 84, more than two years after he stepped down under pressure from mass protests and the army, the presidency has announced. Bouteflika, a veteran of Algeria's war for independence, had ruled the North African country for two decades before his resignation in April 2019 after street demonstrations rejecting his plan to seek a fifth term. He had rarely been seen in public before his departure since a stroke in 2013. After Bouteflika's resignation, in a bid to end the protests demanding political and economic reforms, authorities launched unprecedented investigations into corruption, leading…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Algeria leader pardons protest movement members

NEWS

ALGERIAN President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has ordered the release of 101 members of a protest movement that forced his predecessor Abdelaziz Bouteflika to step down, the presidency said. Elected in December 2019, Tebboune has vowed to carry out economic and political reforms and urged the opposition to opt for dialogue to maintain stability. Algerians late last year voted a new constitution to give the prime minister and parliament a greater role, despite a low voter turnout after a boycott by a large part of the opposition. Mass protests broke out in February 2019 demanding reforms and the departure of the entire…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

Algerian Islamists eye first election win

NEWS

LAMINE CHIKHI ISLAMIST parties in Algeria expect to win parliamentary elections in June and take a major role in government, part of a strategy to gradually build clout within a system long dominated by a secular military that regards them with distrust. While the military will retain ultimate power, the Islamists are taking advantage of political ructions caused by the mass protests that forced out veteran president Abdelaziz Bouteflika in 2019. The largely secular Hirak protest movement still holds weekly demonstrations to demand a full purge of the old ruling elite and is boycotting the election, viewing it as a…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

Algeria frees former spy chief jailed during mass protests

NEWS

AN Algerian military appeals court has acquitted three top officials who were jailed in 2019 during mass protests, sources close to the officials said. Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Picture: Flickr The three - two former security chiefs and the younger brother of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika - were given 15-year prison sentences in September 2019 on charges of conspiracy against the state. Their jailing marked an apparent success for the "Hirak" mass protest movement that took to the streets in early 2019, pushing the army to oust Bouteflika in April that year after 20 years in office. But many in Hirak said…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Algeria upholds conviction of journalist; rights groups fear new crackdown

MEDIA FREEDOM

AN Algerian appeals court has upheld the conviction of a journalist in what rights campaigners called a new crackdown on dissent aimed at preventing the revival of mass protests that toppled veteran ruler Abdelaziz Bouteflika last year. The Hirak popular protest movement brought thousands of Algerians to the streets for weekly demonstrations, which continued even after Bouteflika quit and a new president was elected in December. A judicial source and a rights group that defends detainees said the appeals court had upheld the conviction of journalist Khaled Drareni on charges which include threatening national unity and "inciting unarmed gatherings". His…