Algeria: 30-year Old Activist on Trial for Publishing Secret Documents

A court in Blida, 45 km South-west of capital Algiers, has put on trial a 30-year old blogger over posting on Facebook classified documents revealing the country’s procurement of 200,000 canisters of tear gas in 2016.

The blogger, Abbelhakim Mohandi, was arrested on July 16 in the city of Blida after security authorities accused him of disseminating secret documents showing that the Directorate General of National Security (DGSN) acquired 200,000 canisters of tear gas 37/38 mm from Condor S.A. Quimica, a Brazilian company, in 2016, local media tsa-algerie.com reports.

Mohandi’s lawyer, Amine Sidhoum told the media the defendant, who first appeared in a court July 18, has been charged for “dissemination of secret documents, of illegal detention and publication of materials”.

Mohandi is also facing another charge over insults to a state body, reference to the DGSN.

The court set July 30 as verdict day.

Mohandi is admin of several online forums including El hidjra wa nass el ghorba DZ and Révolution des jeunes algériens.

BBC correspondent Saïd Chitour was arrested last month over alleged handover of secret documents to a foreign power for money. He faces life imprisonment if found guilty.