Algeria Jails Opposition Activist for 2 Years

Demonstrators march with banners and flags during a protest demanding political change, in Algiers, Algeria April 9, 2021. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina
Demonstrators march with banners and flags during a protest demanding political change, in Algiers, Algeria April 9, 2021. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina
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Algeria Jails Opposition Activist for 2 Years

Demonstrators march with banners and flags during a protest demanding political change, in Algiers, Algeria April 9, 2021. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina
Demonstrators march with banners and flags during a protest demanding political change, in Algiers, Algeria April 9, 2021. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina

An Algerian court on Sunday jailed for two years Chems Eddine Laalami, a leading figure from the pro-democracy Hirak protest movement, a rights group said.

Also known as Brahim, 30-year-old Laalami was arrested in late June by the Algerian coastguard as he attempted to cross the Mediterranean to Spain in a migrant boat, Agence France Presse reported.

There were two cases against him, one for "hate speech, contempt of institutions and fake news" and another for "incitement to an unarmed gathering", said the CNLD prisoners' rights group.

Laalami, a tailor, shot to prominence in February 2019 when he demonstrated in Bordj Bou Arreridj near Algiers to denounce then-president Abdelaziz Bouteflika's bid for a fifth term.

A peaceful popular uprising erupted soon after in the capital and other major cities of the North African country, forcing Bouteflika to resign in April that year.

Laalami has since been arrested several times and convicted in a number of trials.

He had already been sentenced to three months for his attempt to flee to Spain.

"Young people are slipping back into disillusionment and despair after a moment of hope sparked by Hirak," said Said Salhi, vice-president of the Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights (LADDH).

Many were fleeing the country and burning their identity papers on arrival at their destination to avoid being sent back, an act known as "harraga" in Arabic, he added.

Determined to break up the Hirak protest movement, the government has banned its demonstrations and stepped up legal proceedings against opponents, activists, journalists and academics.

Around 300 people are currently behind bars on charges related to the Hirak, according to the CNLD.



Houthis in Yemen Say They Won’t End Support for Gaza

 Houthi supporters chant slogans during a weekly anti-US and anti-Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)
Houthi supporters chant slogans during a weekly anti-US and anti-Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)
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Houthis in Yemen Say They Won’t End Support for Gaza

 Houthi supporters chant slogans during a weekly anti-US and anti-Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)
Houthi supporters chant slogans during a weekly anti-US and anti-Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)

A top leader of the Iran-backed-Houthi militias in Yemen said they will keep up their support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip until Israeli “aggression stops, and the siege is lifted.”

“Our operations in support of Gaza will not cease, no matter the sacrifices,” said Mahdi al-Mashat in a statement Wednesday.

The Houthis are the last militant group in Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” that is capable of regularly attacking Israel.

They have been firing long-range missiles at Israel in the months since it resumed the war in Gaza, setting off air raid sirens but generally causing few casualties. They have also been attacking shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.