Algeria sentences two former Bouteflika prime ministers to prison terms
A court in the Algerian capital upheld the prison sentences of two former prime ministers, a judicial source said on Thursday. It has upheld prison sentences for two former prime ministers, Abdelmalek Sellal and Ahmed Ouyahia.
The court upheld a 15-year prison sentence for former prime minister Ahmed Ouyahia and a 12-year sentence for former prime minister Abdelmalek Sellal, both of whom served under former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
The sentences were handed down during a third trial of the defendants in the cases of car assembly and covert financing of the cancelled election campaign of candidate Abdelaziz Bouteflika in April 2019, these prison sentences are accompanied by different fines.
In addition to the prison sentences for the two former ministers, the Algerian state news agency APS reported that the ruling also sentences former industry ministers Mahdyub Beda and Yussef Yusfi to three and two years.
On the other hand, the former official of the Ministry of Industry has received a two-year prison sentence. Businessman Ali Haddad, former head of the Algerian employers' association, and businessmen Hassan Larbaoui, Ahmed Maazuz and Mohamed Bairi were also sentenced to four years in prison.
The defendants were prosecuted for squandering public funds, granting undue advantages, especially in the car assembly sector, and secretly financing the election campaign of April 2019 presidential candidate Bouteflika.
The court also ordered the freezing of the accounts and assets of all defendants. This had a bearing on the illegal financing of the former Algerian president's campaign during his government in 2019. This was suspended after he was forced to resign under the pressure of protests against his attempt to stay in office.
Meanwhile, former Transport and Public Works Minister Abdelghani Zaâlane, who was prosecuted as Boutefika's campaign manager, and the head of the National Bank of Algeria (BNA), Aboud Achour, were acquitted.
Both former ministers have been convicted in several corruption cases since the end of Bouteflika's presidency. Sellal, who served from 2012 to 2017, with a one-month break in 2014, and Ouyahia, who served from 2008 to 2017 and then again from 2017 to 2019.
Since Bouteflika's departure from power, several individuals and businessmen have been arrested. The court assures that they do not take orders and work independently, although these sentences have not satisfied the demands of the protesters.
The new president, Abdelmayid Tabune, showed support for the protesters after winning the December elections. He intends to establish a serious dialogue and push through a reform of the constitution. But protesters have rejected the latter because of what they see as cosmetic changes to the constitution.
