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Complaint Sent to UN Against Detention of Algerian Political Figure

Protesters hold flags during an anti-government demonstration in Algiers, Algeria January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina
Protesters hold flags during an anti-government demonstration in Algiers, Algeria January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina
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Complaint Sent to UN Against Detention of Algerian Political Figure

Protesters hold flags during an anti-government demonstration in Algiers, Algeria January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina
Protesters hold flags during an anti-government demonstration in Algiers, Algeria January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina

An Algerian lawyer has announced filing a complaint to the United Nations on the “arbitrary detention” of Algerian political activist Karim Tabbou.

The lawyer, who resides in Canada, said he filed the complaint to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to protest against the continued imprisonment of Head of the Democratic and Socialist Union party.

On March 24, a court of appeals sentenced Tabbou for a year in prison on charges of “weakening army morale” in 2019 after criticizing the then army chief, Ahmed Gaed Salah, who died suddenly of a heart attack in late December

His lawyer said he had been unable to defend himself after suffering a medical problem, which he later revealed to be a stroke.

He had become the most prominent figure in the Hirak protest movement, which emerged in February 2019, shaking Algeria’s deeply entrenched political establishment with weekly mass protests that forced longtime leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika to resign.

The UN Human Rights Council in Geneva has previously slammed Algeria for detaining political activists, in some cases that date back to the 1990s.

In this context, the Appeal Court in the capital, Algiers, adjourned Tuesday the verdict in the case of journalist and political activist Fodil Boumala, who was accused of “weakening army morale.”

An Algiers court has acquitted him in early March, but the public prosecution has appealed the verdict.

The National Committee for the Liberation of Prisoners announced Tuesday the postponement of the trial of eight protesters to an unspecified date.

This step comes in light of the Ministry of Justice’s decision to adjourn all trials in line with the measures taken by the state to face the coronavirus outbreak.

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SOHR: Document Reveals Assad Family Smuggled Millions to Moscow

The historic Hotel Ukraina in central Moscow (Wikipedia)
The historic Hotel Ukraina in central Moscow (Wikipedia)
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SOHR: Document Reveals Assad Family Smuggled Millions to Moscow

The historic Hotel Ukraina in central Moscow (Wikipedia)
The historic Hotel Ukraina in central Moscow (Wikipedia)

A confidential document obtained by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has revealed massive money smuggling operations carried out via Syrian Airlines to Moscow.
The operations are described as among the most corrupt financial transfers orchestrated by the now-defunct Syrian regime.
According to the document, the majority of the funds stem from profits made through the production and trade of Captagon, a highly lucrative illicit drug.
The head of SOHR, Rami Abdel Rahman, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the most recent transfer took place just four days before Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow in December of last year.
Rami Abdel Rahman also affirmed that the leaked document underscores the “deep involvement of the former Syrian regime in illegal activities.”
He added that further investigations could uncover a vast network of secret financial operations used to transfer large sums of money from Syria to Russia and other countries under official cover and without oversight.
“The regime, led by the ousted Assad and his brother, spearheaded drug-related investments, particularly through the production, promotion, and export of Captagon,” Abdel Rahman told Asharq Al-Awsat.
He explained that one key route involved a small port near the Afamia chalets on Syria's coast, which previously belonged to Rifaat al-Assad, the brother of late former President Hafez al-Assad.
From there, shipments were sent via smugglers to Italian ports, where collaborating traders distributed the drugs globally.
A Syrian source based in Russia, closely monitoring the regime’s activities and investments there, said the content of the leaked document is not new but that its official confirmation adds weight to prior claims.
“Western media had previously reported on the regime’s money-smuggling operations, which led to some loyalists being added to international sanctions lists, particularly regime-linked businessmen like Mudalal Khouri,” the source, who requested anonymity, told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Sanctions were also imposed on individuals accused of money laundering for the regime.
The source confirmed that the operations were conducted using Syrian Airlines flights to Moscow.
“There were dozens of such flights, each loaded with hard currency—mostly US dollars and €500 euro notes,” the source said.
The money was reportedly delivered directly from the airport to the Syrian regime's embassy in Moscow, where it was distributed to loyalist businessmen.
These funds were then invested in Russian and Belarusian banks, real estate, and commercial properties. Some of the money was also used to establish companies in both countries.
The operations were allegedly overseen by Mohammed Makhlouf, the maternal uncle of Assad.