Algeria: Former head of national security sentenced to 15 years in prison

A court in capital Algiers Wednesday pressed a 15-year prison sentence associated with a $80,000-fine against former head of the national police, Major General Abdelghani Hamel, charged with corruption and illicit enrichment.

The Sidi M’hamed court also handed individual sentences to the family of the General and their company.

Hamel’s wife Lanani Salima is handed one-year in prison and a $10,000 fine. Their elder son, Amyar is issued 10 years in prison and a fine of $60,000. The couple’s other son, Shafiq, is sentenced to eight years in prison attached with a $50,000 fine. Mourad, the Hamels third son, and their daughter, Shahinaz, were both sentenced to seven years in prison and a fine of $50,000.

The family’s company, whose properties were seized, is requested to pay $320,000 in fine to the state.

The prosecution in March requested 20 years in prison for the former head of national security directorate.

The court also heard and sentenced several people including former ministers and governors over connection with the case. Abdelmalek Boudiaf and Abdelghani Zaâlane, two former ministers are sentenced respectively to three years in prison and a fine of $10,000. They were governors of Oran governorate at the time the illicit enrichment by the family.