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.



US Revokes Foreign Terrorist Designation for Syria's HTS

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
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US Revokes Foreign Terrorist Designation for Syria's HTS

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)

President Donald Trump's administration on Monday revoked the foreign terrorist organization designation for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, as Washington moves to remove US sanctions on Syria to help the country rebuild following years of a civil war.

In December, opposition factions led by HTS ousted Syria's former president Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive. Then-HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa became Syria's president and said he wanted to build an inclusive and democratic Syria.

HTS was previously known as al-Nusra Front when it was al-Qaeda's Syria branch. It broke off ties with al-Qaeda in 2016.

In May, Sharaa met with Trump in Riyadh where, in a major policy shift, the Republican president unexpectedly announced he would lift US sanctions on Syria, prompting Washington to significantly ease its measures.

"This FTO revocation is an important step in fulfilling President Trump’s vision of a stable, unified, and peaceful Syria," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement, adding that the revocation will come into effect on Tuesday.

Last week, Trump signed an executive order terminating US sanctions program on Syria, a move that aims to end the country's isolation from the international financial system.

Syria's foreign ministry told Reuters that the lifting of sanctions on HTS was a "positive step toward correcting a course that previously hindered constructive engagement."

The written statement said Syria hoped the move would "contribute to the removal of remaining restrictions that continue to impact Syrian institutions and officials, and open the door to a rational, sovereign-based approach to international cooperation."

The ministry also said that Sharaa was planning to attend the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in September. The UN Security Council still has sanctions on both HTS and Sharaa himself, which require a Council decision to remove.