Former Algerian Minister Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison

Former Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil (Getty)
Former Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil (Getty)
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Former Algerian Minister Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison

Former Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil (Getty)
Former Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil (Getty)

A former Algerian energy minister was sentenced in absentia Thursday to 20 years in prison for corruption.

Chakib Khelil headed the energy ministry for a decade under the late president Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

The Sidi M’Hamed court in Algiers also issued on Thursday prison terms of between five and 10 years to former senior officials including ex-ministers Amar Ghoul and Mohamed Bedjaoui, along with two former heads of state energy firm Sonatrach, Noureddine Bouterfa and Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour.

All of the accused were found guilty of “squandering public funds when concluding contracts with foreign companies.”

The court also confirmed an international arrest warrant against Khelil.

In 2013, the North African country issued an international arrest warrant for Khelil over a case involving receiving commissions from a subsidiary of Eni in return for signing contracts with it to work in Algeria.

He returned to Algeria in 2016 after the charges were dropped, only to flee again after Bouteflika’s 2019 resignation under the pressure of the army and protests.

Khelil fled to the US, then in 2013, an international order to arrest him was issued.

Yet, he was acquitted of charges of receiving bribes from Eni in return for Algerian contracts.

Khelil returned to Algeria after canceling the arrest warrant, but the Supreme Court of Algeria reopened the corruption case, so he left Algeria again.

An Algerian court also issued a six-year prison sentence in the case of the former chief executive officer of the National Company for Passenger Sea Transport, Kamel Issad, over corruption charges that he faced upon his dismissal in June, according to Algeria Press Service.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune sacked Issad on June 2 for allegedly harming people’s interests and distorting the image of Algeria.

A ship - almost empty - departed from Marseille to Algiers despite heavy pressure on flights to Algiers at the beginning of the summer. This caused a scandal.

The commercial director of the National Company for Passenger Sea Transport, Karim Bouznad, was also handed a five-year jail term and a €6,700 fine was imposed on him.



Human Rights Watch Says Houthi Attacks on Red Sea Vessels Amount to War Crimes 

Houthi supporters hold up weapons during a protest against the US and Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)
Houthi supporters hold up weapons during a protest against the US and Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)
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Human Rights Watch Says Houthi Attacks on Red Sea Vessels Amount to War Crimes 

Houthi supporters hold up weapons during a protest against the US and Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)
Houthi supporters hold up weapons during a protest against the US and Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)

The Iranian-backed Houthi militias in Yemen attacked two ships, the Magic Seas and the Eternity C, on July 6 and 9, killing some of their crew and detaining others, Human Rights Watch said in a statement on Wednesday.

The militants have been launching missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group’s leadership has described as an effort to end Israel’s offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

HRW, however, said the Houthis’ attacks on the two vessels “violates the laws of war applicable to the armed conflict between the Houthis and Israel.”

“The Houthis have sought to justify unlawful attacks by pointing to Israeli violations against Palestinians,” said Niku Jafarnia, HRW’s Yemen and Bahrain researcher.

Jafarnia called for the Houthis to end all attacks on ships that don’t take part in the Israeli-Hamas war and immediately release detained crew members.