Algeria’s Union: Pressures and Outside Interference Affect Judges’ Duties

Judges and prosecutors take part in a protest to demand the independence of the judiciary in Algiers, Algeria (Reuters)
Judges and prosecutors take part in a protest to demand the independence of the judiciary in Algiers, Algeria (Reuters)
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Algeria’s Union: Pressures and Outside Interference Affect Judges’ Duties

Judges and prosecutors take part in a protest to demand the independence of the judiciary in Algiers, Algeria (Reuters)
Judges and prosecutors take part in a protest to demand the independence of the judiciary in Algiers, Algeria (Reuters)

Algeria's National Union of Judges said that thousands of its members are being pressured and abused, that negatively affecting their duties and the integrity of their rulings.

The Union issued a statement expressing strong dissatisfaction in excluding it from the government’s drafting process of the recent amendments to the criminal law, which stipulated tougher penalties against false news promoters.

The statement also addressed recent injustice and arbitrariness against the “best people of this country", a hint at influential bodies interfering with the work of the judges regarding major cases submitted for adjudication. Some judges were even punished for refusing to yield to political pressures.

The Union criticized the ongoing imprisonment of two judges, saying it is "an act of retaliation" by the Justice Minister, Belkacem Zghemat, for the union’s October strike.

The minister accused one of the imprisoned judges of providing critical judicial information to an opposition figure in Europe, Amir Boukhors, however, the union declined such claims and assured the judge was innocent.

Authorities say Boukhors interfered in the affairs of the army, intelligence, and senior officials in the country.

The statement also addressed the controversial issue of the criminal law, after authorities wanted to add new articles stipulating imprisonment for a period of up to 3 years against those spreading false news.

The amendment of the law came after several leaders questioned the validity of the figures the government is announcing on coronavirus cases and deaths.

The union said the articles of the law “are weak” and did not clearly specify what constitutes false news. It considered the law a blatant transgression of the principle of criminal legitimacy, which requires accurately identifying criminal acts to protect individual freedoms and rights.

In related news, several judges are facing charges of submitting to the dictations of the authorities in connection with the imprisonment of dozens of activists, politicians, and journalists, namely Karim Tabbou, Khaled Drareni, Samir Belarbi, and Suleiman Hamitouche.

In February 2019, judges supported the protests, however, they withdrew from the marches when former army chief, Ahmed Qaid Saleh, rejected the demand for comprehensive change for which the protesters were calling.

The Union demanded to change the Justice Minister in the new cabinet after the presidential elections last year, but President Abdelmadjid Tebboune kept him contrary to the expectations of the observers.

The Union also wanted to ensure the independence of the judiciary by removing the President and Justice Minister from the Supreme Judicial Council. This is supposed to be included in the constitution amendment before the end of this year.



Israeli Soldiers Kill Palestinian Man in West Bank

A picture taken in the village of Turmus Ayya near Ramallah city shows the nearby Israeli Shilo settlement in the background, in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
A picture taken in the village of Turmus Ayya near Ramallah city shows the nearby Israeli Shilo settlement in the background, in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
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Israeli Soldiers Kill Palestinian Man in West Bank

A picture taken in the village of Turmus Ayya near Ramallah city shows the nearby Israeli Shilo settlement in the background, in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
A picture taken in the village of Turmus Ayya near Ramallah city shows the nearby Israeli Shilo settlement in the background, in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)

Palestinian authorities said Israeli troops killed a 55-year-old man in the north of the occupied West Bank on Thursday -- an incident the Israeli army said involved a stabbing attack.

The Ramallah-based health ministry said the body in charge of coordination with Israel informed it that soldiers "shot and killed" the man in Rummanah, near Jenin, in the morning.

The Israeli military said separately that troops deployed in the village "neutralised" a man after he stabbed and "moderately injured" a soldier, AFP reported.

The army generally uses the term "neutralised" after killing someone.

Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has soared since the Hamas attack of October 2023.

A 12-year-old Palestinian boy died Thursday of wounds suffered during an army raid near the West Bank town of Nablus last week, the health ministry said.

Since October 7, 2023, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 951 Palestinians, including many militants, the ministry said.

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Over the same period, at least 35 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, according to Israeli figures.