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Brother of Algeria’s Ex-President Faces New Charges

Said Bouteflika, Asharq Al-Awsat
Said Bouteflika, Asharq Al-Awsat
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Brother of Algeria’s Ex-President Faces New Charges

Said Bouteflika, Asharq Al-Awsat
Said Bouteflika, Asharq Al-Awsat

Said Bouteflika, the youngest brother of former Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, is facing serious charges of attempting to manipulate the national justice system by influencing judges working on cases related to his business connections.

Last Thursday, an Algerian judge ordered placing Bouteflika in pretrial detention. He was a part of an investigation involving former Justice Minister Tayeb Louh, who has been in prison for months now.

Louh is accused of covering corruption involving business tycoons close to Bouteflika, namely Ali Haddad, who was indicted in a major graft case.

The investigating judge questioned Bouteflika about phone conversations he had with Louh over the past years, some of which included directions given to the justice minister to overlook legal complaints filed against a number of businessmen.

Louh had confessed to following orders he received from Bouteflika, who at the time was serving as a top presidential aid. This led to freezing many cases filed against businessmen close to the Bouteflika regime.

Last year, a military court in Algeria sentenced Bouteflika to 15 years in prison for plotting against the state and undermining the army.

He was tried alongside two former intelligence chiefs, General Athmane Tartag and General Mohamed Mediene, as well as Louisa Hanoune, the head of the leftist Workers’ party, who were all handed 15-year sentences after a two-day trial held behind closed doors.

Bouteflika had wielded enormous influence as gatekeeper to his ailing brother who was incapacitated by a stroke in 2013 and forced out of office by the army in April after weeks of popular protests against plans to allow him a fifth term in office.

The former president’s brother was seen as the linchpin of an opaque clique of politicians and business leaders who influenced decision-making at the top of the gas-exporting north African country.

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Security Council Urges Syrian Authorities to Protect Minorities

Security personnel inspect vehicles at a checkpoint set up to confiscate stolen items, in Latakia, Syria March 14, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Security personnel inspect vehicles at a checkpoint set up to confiscate stolen items, in Latakia, Syria March 14, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
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Security Council Urges Syrian Authorities to Protect Minorities

Security personnel inspect vehicles at a checkpoint set up to confiscate stolen items, in Latakia, Syria March 14, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Security personnel inspect vehicles at a checkpoint set up to confiscate stolen items, in Latakia, Syria March 14, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

The UN Security Council has condemned the widespread violence in several provinces in Syria, calling on the interim authorities “to protect all Syrians without distinction.”

In a presidential statement it adopted unanimously on Friday, the Council “condemned the widespread violence perpetrated in Syria’s Latakia and Tartus provinces since 6 March — including mass killings of civilians among the Alawite community.”

The Council “condemned attacks targeting civilian infrastructure” and “called on all parties to immediately cease all violence and inflammatory activities and ensure the protection of all civilian populations and infrastructure, as well as humanitarian operations.”

It said “all parties and States must ensure full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to those affected and the humane treatment of all persons. The Council also urged a rapid increase of humanitarian support across Syria.”

The Council “called for swift, transparent, independent, impartial and comprehensive investigations to ensure accountability and bring all perpetrators of violence against civilians to justice.”

It took note of the Syrian interim authorities’ establishment of an independent committee to investigate such violence and identify those responsible.

The Council also noted the Syrian decision to establish a committee for civil peace.

It renewed its call for an inclusive political process led and owned by Syrians, facilitated by the UN and based on the principles outlined in resolution 2254. “This includes safeguarding the rights of all Syrians — regardless of ethnicity or religion — meeting their legitimate aspirations and enabling them to peacefully, independently and democratically determine their futures.”

Meanwhile, the Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, hoped that the Constitutional Declaration issued by the Syrian authorities “will move Syria toward restoring the rule of law and promoting an orderly inclusive transition.”

Pedersen issued a statement on the fourteenth anniversary of the war in Syria.

“Now is the time for bold moves to create a genuinely credible and inclusive transitional government and legislative body; a constitutional framework and process to draft a new constitution for the long term that is credible and inclusive too; and genuine transitional justice,” he said.

“More than three months since the fall of the Assad regime, Syria now stands at a pivotal moment,” he added.

The Special Envoy called for “an immediate end to all violence and for protection of civilians in accordance with international law” and called “for a credible independent investigation into the recent killings and violence, and for the full cooperation of the caretaker authorities with the United Nations in this regard.”