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Algeria Releases Key Hirak Leader

FILE PHOTO: Protesters march during an anti-government demonstration in Algiers, Algeria January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina
FILE PHOTO: Protesters march during an anti-government demonstration in Algiers, Algeria January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina
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Algeria Releases Key Hirak Leader

FILE PHOTO: Protesters march during an anti-government demonstration in Algiers, Algeria January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina
FILE PHOTO: Protesters march during an anti-government demonstration in Algiers, Algeria January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina

Algeria on Thursday provisionally released a key protest movement leader, Karim Tabbou, and three other jailed activists ahead of the country's independence day.

Tabbou, 47, is one of the most prominent if not best-known figure of "Hirak" -- a movement that forced the downfall last April of longtime president Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

He walked out of Kolea jail, west of Algiers in the afternoon, an AFP correspondent said.

He was accompanied by activists Amira Bouraoui and Samir Benlarbi who were seen leaving the same prison after also being granted provisional releases.

Bouraoui embraced her family, while her two companions draped her with Algerian flags. A small crowd shouted pro-Hirak slogans.

"Our happiness is not complete. In leaving, I left two brothers in prison," Benlarbi said briefly.

Among the best known "Hirak" figures behind bars is journalist Khaled Drareni, head of the information website Casbah Tribune and correspondent for French television channel Tv5Monde. His request for release was rejected.

A fourth activist Slimane Hamitouche "has already gone home", said one of his lawyers, Abderahmane Salah.

Tabbou, jailed in September 2019, was serving a one-year sentence for an "attack on the integrity of national territory".

He also faces a charge of "damaging the morale of the army", in a trial which has been postponed to September 14.

Abdellah Benadouda, founder of the US-based pro-Hirak Radio Corona Internationale, said the next step would be to "liberate the justice" system in Algeria.

Bouraoui's lawyer said Bouraoui was also freed provisionally, pending another appeal hearing on September 24.

She was sentenced to a one-year jail term on June 21 for a string of charges, including "offending" the president and Islam as well as for "incitement" to violate coronavirus confinement regulations.

Sosiane Djilali, head of an opposition party, said a month ago that President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had told him in a meeting he would "ensure that Karim Tabbou and Samir Benlarbi regain their freedom".

Benlarbi, a media personality, had been held in preventive detention.

Also ahead of the July 5 anniversary of Algeria's 1962 independence from France, Tebboune on Wednesday pardoned six prisoners, including three linked to Hirak.

Weekly anti-government protests rocked Algeria for more than a year and only came to a halt in March due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, with the authorities banning marches -- although the opposition had already stopped gathering, due to concerns about the virus.

But the Algerian government continues to target opponents, journalists, independent media and internet users.

According to the National Committee for the Release of Detainees (CNLD), almost 70 people are currently detained on charges linked to the protest movement, mostly over Facebook posts.

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Former Regime Elements, Drug Traffickers Targeted in Western Homs and Damascus Campaigns

The Anti-Narcotics Department seizes a drug depot belonging to Maher al-Assad in the Sabura area in the Damascus countryside (Ministry of Interior).
The Anti-Narcotics Department seizes a drug depot belonging to Maher al-Assad in the Sabura area in the Damascus countryside (Ministry of Interior).
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Former Regime Elements, Drug Traffickers Targeted in Western Homs and Damascus Campaigns

The Anti-Narcotics Department seizes a drug depot belonging to Maher al-Assad in the Sabura area in the Damascus countryside (Ministry of Interior).
The Anti-Narcotics Department seizes a drug depot belonging to Maher al-Assad in the Sabura area in the Damascus countryside (Ministry of Interior).

The Syrian Military Operations Administration has been pressing its security campaigns aimed at disarming former regime militia remnants and combating drug traffickers across Syria.

On Tuesday, for the third time, the administration, in collaboration with the General Security Directorate, launched a large-scale operation in western rural Homs. The campaign focused on the villages of Jabbourin Rafain, Al-Haysa, Jabbourin, Qaniyat Al-Assi, Tasnin, Kafrnan, Akrad Al-Dasniya, and their surroundings. Simultaneous campaigns were conducted in Aleppo’s Nairab district, Jaramana in the Damascus countryside, and northern Daraa.

Security sources said the operation in rural Homs targets “remnants of Assad militias who refused to surrender their weapons, arms depots, drug dealers, and traffickers,” according to an official statement from the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). Military reinforcements were dispatched to support the campaign in the targeted areas.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said the operation in the village of Jabbourin in rural Hama marked the second such operation within a week. The observatory noted that several civilians and military personnel, including those who had reconciled with the government, were arrested. Some detainees were later released, while others remain under investigation.

Residents in rural Homs expressed significant concern about the proliferation of weapons, incidents of abductions, and the escalating fear of retribution. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, they noted a prevailing sense of unease and insecurity, as anonymous actors exploit the current chaos to fuel tensions and instability.

The General Security Directorate in Homs has urged residents in western rural Homs villages and towns to fully cooperate with its forces and the Military Operations Administration to ensure the success of the campaign’s objectives.

In Daraa, southern Syria, the Daraa 24 network reported that the General Security Directorate carried out a raid in the city of Izraa, north of Daraa. During the operation, large quantities of weapons were seized, and warnings were issued to individuals still in possession of firearms to surrender them “to preserve the region’s security and stability.”

An earlier security operation in the Lajat region, located between the Suwayda and Daraa governorates, resulted in the arrest of 18 individuals described as former regime remnants, drug traffickers, and arms dealers. The Syrian Interior Ministry also announced the arrest of “remnant elements and members of a gang involved in the theft of weapons from a warehouse in the Mazraa project area of Damascus.”

Meanwhile, the General Security Directorate released several former regime elements in Damascus after verifying their lack of involvement in violations against the Syrian people. According to local sources cited by Syrian Television, several conscripts detained in Adra Prison in Damascus were freed on Tuesday, with additional releases expected in the coming days.

Last week, the General Security Directorate released 360 detainees, including former regime officers, out of approximately 800 people arrested as part of the Homs security campaign. Following investigations, the authorities confirmed that those individuals were not in possession of weapons and had pledged not to engage in activities against the new Syrian administration.