French prosecutor's office opens investigation after Saidia incident

The French public prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into the death of two French-Moroccan tourists while they were enjoying a jet ski excursion in the coastal town of Saidia, near the Moroccan-Algerian border. The two victims, Bilal Kissi and Abdelali Mechouar, were shot dead by Algerian coastguards, who also opened fire on two other tourists who were sailing with the deceased.

As the French prosecutor's office pointed out, this investigation, "mirroring" the investigation by the judicial authorities in Oujda, was opened for "intentional homicide and entrusted to the criminal brigade of the Paris judicial police", according to AFP.

This investigation comes after lawyers for the families of the two victims filed a complaint in Paris on Sunday for "aggravated homicide, attempted aggravated murder, hijacking of a boat and failure to assist a person in danger".

In recent days, the Algerian Ministry of Defence has also offered its version of events, admitting that the coastguard fired at the jet skis "after several verbal warnings to stop".

Moroccan human rights organisations have protested in Rabat, condemning the incident. Driss Al-Sedraoui, national president of the Moroccan League for Citizenship and Human Rights, told local media Febrayer that the incident was "an organised act, planned by the leaders of the Algerian army", which also commits "real crimes" against Algerian citizens, especially in the region of Kabylia, according to Al-Sedraoui.  

"Algeria is trying to export its internal crises, sowing discord in the region," added the president of the Moroccan organisation, who also recalled that Algeria "violates human rights to a large extent".

As for the measures they will take after the death of the two Franco-Moroccans, Al-Sedraoui assured that they would send a letter to the UN Secretary General and adopt "procedures against Algeria". The activist also wanted to reaffirm his solidarity with the two young men who died, stressing the need to "draw the attention of national and international public opinion to the series of crimes that the Algerian regime is accustomed to committing".

Other organisations or bodies such as the Moroccan National Council for Human Rights or the Amazigh League for Human Rights have condemned what happened. The latter association has even asked the UN to "open an impartial and exhaustive international investigation" into the incident. "This atrocious crime constitutes a full-fledged crime against humanity according to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court", the League affirmed, recalling that it is an attack against Moroccan civilians by Algerian military authorities.

The organisation also stressed that this is not the first time something similar has happened. In 2014 an Algerian soldier shot at Moroccan citizens, while in 2011 a Moroccan soldier was killed at the border adjacent to the town of Jerada.

Algeria blackmails the family of one of the deceased 

According to the media Telexpresse, the Algerian regime tried to blackmail the family of one of the victims of the incident over the handover of the body, located by the Algerian Coast Guard. According to the media, the father of the deceased "categorically rejected" the Algerian authorities' request not to speak to the media about the incident. "Otherwise, he would not receive the victim's body," Telexpresse said.

The family also refused to sign a document stating that their son drowned. In this regard, the father asked the Algerian authorities how they could say he drowned when the body had "two bullets, one in the back and one in the head".

British government warns its citizens about the Algerian army 

The British Foreign Office has issued a statement warning its citizens following the incident in Saidia. As the Ministry's note stresses, "the land border between Algeria and Morocco is closed, do not attempt to cross it".

"The border extends all the way to the sea. If you are on a boat or rent a jet ski, make sure you know where the maritime borders are and stay clearly within Moroccan territorial waters," the ministry adds. In the statement, the British authorities also ask their citizens to ensure they have "sufficient fuel to return to shore".