The Human Rights Watch has published a long statement of concern calling on the Algerian authorities to protect the fair trial rights of Kamal Eddine Fekhar and other Amazigh rights advocates, who have been detained by the Algerian authorities since 9 July 2015, after he accused them of taking the side of the Malikite Arabs over Ibadite Amazigh during the recurrent tensions in the city of Ghardaia in the region of M’zab.
The Algerian authorities should drop all charges against a leading activist and his 40 co-defendants that are based on their peaceful activism for the rights of the Amazigh, or Berber, minority, Human Rights Watch, EuroMed Rights, Amnesty International, and Front Line Defenders said.
If Algerian authorities are to try those suspected of instigating and participating in deadly violence in Ghardaia Province, it should be on the basis of solid, individualized evidence,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.
“The victims of the tragic events in the Mzab deserve justice, which a deeply flawed trial cannot serve,” said Heba Morayef, North Africa research director at Amnesty International.
