Algerian journalist and opposition activist Abdou Semmar suffers assassination attempt
Abdou Semmar, Algerian journalist and opposition activist, has suffered an assassination attempt in Paris, where he has been living in exile since 2019. According to police sources to which Maghreb Intelligence has had access, Semmar was intercepted as he was leaving his home in the French capital by a man who sprayed him with tear gas before attempting to shoot him. However, several bystanders intervened and managed to save Semmar's life. "This is yet another attempt to silence journalist and opposition activist Abdou Semmar, this time in a very radical way," recalls Maghreb Intelligence.
🇲🇦🇩🇿🇫🇷| Abdou Semmar, connu pour ses positions anti-junte et rapprochement des peuples, a été intercepté, par un individu qui l’a aspergé de gaz lacrymogène avant d’essayer de se saisir d’une arme à feu pour l’abattre.
— Moroccan History 🇲🇦۞ (@MoroccanSories) August 15, 2023
Il a eu la vie sauve grâce à des passants qui se sont opposés pic.twitter.com/MTZhWOgjzB
The Algerian regime is known for silencing critical voices both inside and outside the country, as well as censoring the media and journalists who report on the abuses and corruption of the elites. The assassination attempt against Semmar is just one more attempt to eliminate any dissent against the system. The Algerian journalist is one of the few who dares to speak openly about the regime in Algiers and denounce its scandals. Semmar also advocates reconciliation between the Maghreb countries.
Semmar, founder of the independent media Algérie Part, arrived in France in 2019 after spending time in prison in Algeria for his criticism of the government. In October 2022, he was sentenced to death by the Dar El Beïda court in Algiers for revealing secret information related to the state-owned oil company Sonatrach, an act that the Algerian authorities described as "high treason". From Paris, Semmar denounced corruption within the oil company thanks to information provided by a former Sonatrach executive, Lamine Ouis, who was also sentenced to 10 years in prison for sharing "false and confidential information" with Semmar.
The journalist and opposition activist has repeatedly stated that his sole objective is to "provide reliable and objective information". Semmar has also demanded that the Algerian authorities respect freedom of the press. 2022 was a particularly tough year for Algerian dissidents and independent journalists due to a wave of repression launched by the regime.
Several media outlets were forced to close due to political pressure, while journalists such as Ihsane el-Kadi were arrested by the authorities. The Arab nation ranks 134th out of 180 countries in the world press freedom index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
RSF warns that the situation of the Algerian media "has never before deteriorated so much", highlighting the pressure they are under and the arrests of journalists. RSF also denounces the increasingly "restrictive" legal framework, referring to the reform of the penal code adopted in 2020, which provides for prison sentences of one to three years for disseminating "false news" and "hate speech" aimed at harming "national security and order", as well as "state security and national unity". Such laws are commonly used to prosecute and convict independent and critical journalists.
On the other hand, 2022 also saw the dissolution of the Algerian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LADDH), highlighting the increasing repression by Abdelmadjid Tebboune's government. LADDH is an NGO founded in 1985 close to the Algerian protest movement Hirak whose aim was to defend human rights in the North African country. The organisation was dismantled after a trial that was held without the defendants and their lawyers. In fact, LADDH members - most of them exiled in France or Belgium - found out about the dissolution of the association through social networks.
