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Algerian Ex-Defense Minister Hits Back at Rivals

Algerians shop at the produce market in the Bab el-Oued suburb of Algeria's capital Algiers, on January 26, 2021. (Photo by RYAD KRAMDI / AFP)
Algerians shop at the produce market in the Bab el-Oued suburb of Algeria's capital Algiers, on January 26, 2021. (Photo by RYAD KRAMDI / AFP)
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Algerian Ex-Defense Minister Hits Back at Rivals

Algerians shop at the produce market in the Bab el-Oued suburb of Algeria's capital Algiers, on January 26, 2021. (Photo by RYAD KRAMDI / AFP)
Algerians shop at the produce market in the Bab el-Oued suburb of Algeria's capital Algiers, on January 26, 2021. (Photo by RYAD KRAMDI / AFP)

Algeria’s former defense minister General Khaled Nezzar has launched a legal battle against his business rivals.

His only partner in the Smart Link Communication (SLC) Company, Mouloud Meghzi, has been in jail since Dec. 14 after he filed a lawsuit against Nezzar and accused him of “fraud and forgery.”

On Wednesday, a court in Algiers postponed reviewing a counter lawsuit filed by Nezzar and his five sons against Meghzi, an American citizen and relative of the former minister’s wife who has been residing in the US for more than 30 years.

The case was adjourned to February at the request of the defense team, which asked for time to read all the documents.

One of Meghzi’s lawyers said he was accused of “targeting the army’s morale” based on “WhatsApp” calls with Hichem Aboud, the wanted former intelligence officer who is residing in France.

He affirmed that Meghzi only shared information and photos belonging to Nezzar and his two sons, Lotfi and Sofiane.

He wondered why his client has been given army-linked charges while his chats and calls with Aboud only tackled his business dispute with Nezzar and his family.

Sending Meghzi to pretrial detention is “arbitrary” since he could be prosecuted out of prison, the lawyer stressed.

“Meghzi is a prominent figure known for specializing in communications techniques and Internet services in Algeria and many countries,” he added.

The US embassy in Algeria has been following up his case, and the US consul attended the court hearing on Wednesday.

In 2019, Meghzi filed the lawsuit against Nezzar, and accused him and his sons of “falsifying” the company’s contracts and raising their contributions to its capital while reducing his share to an extent that prevents him from making any decision regarding its activities.

He also filed a lawsuit against Nezzar’s family in the US since the company has implemented projects there.

Meghazi was the company’s CEO and co-founder for 20 years.

Nezzar was sentenced by the military court in absentia to 20 years in prison on charges of “undermining the authority of the army” and “conspiring” against the state, and he had sought refuge in Spain with his family.

Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaid Salah, who died in late 2019, had backed the charges amid a personal dispute that dates back to the liberation revolution, when Nezzar was still a member of the colonial army.

The charges were dropped and the case was closed a year after Salah’s death and Nezzar then returned from his self-imposed exile on Dec.11, 2020.

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Arab World

Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
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Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

At least two people were killed and four rescued from the rubble of a multistory apartment building that collapsed Sunday in the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon, state media reported.

Rescue teams were continuing to dig through the rubble. It was not immediately clear how many people were in the building when it fell.

The bodies pulled out were of a child and a woman, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Dozens of people crowded around the site of the crater left by the collapsed building, with some shooting in the air.

The building was in the neighborhood of Bab Tabbaneh, one of the poorest areas in Lebanon’s second largest city, where residents have long complained of government neglect and shoddy infrastructure. Building collapses are not uncommon in Tripoli due to poor building standards, according to The AP news.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry announced that those injured in the collapse would receive treatment at the state’s expense.

The national syndicate for property owners in a statement called the collapse the result of “blatant negligence and shortcomings of the Lebanese state toward the safety of citizens and their housing security,” and said it is “not an isolated incident.”

The syndicate called for the government to launch a comprehensive national survey of buildings at risk of collapse.

Arab World

Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
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Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)

Israel's security cabinet approved a series of steps on Sunday that would make it easier for settlers in the occupied West Bank to buy land while granting Israeli authorities more enforcement powers over Palestinians, Israeli media reported.

The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).

Citing statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israeli news sites Ynet and Haaretz said the measures included scrapping decades-old regulations that prevent Jewish private citizens buying land in the West Bank, The AP news reported.

They were also reported to include allowing Israeli authorities to administer some religious sites, and expand supervision and enforcement in areas under PA administration in matters of environmental hazards, water offences and damage to archaeological sites.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the new measures were dangerous, illegal and tantamount to de-facto annexation.

The Israeli ministers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The new measures come three days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet in Washington with US President Donald Trump.

Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel's accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.

Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.

His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.

The United Nations' highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there is illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view.

Arab World

Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit strongly condemned the attack by the Rapid Support Forces on humanitarian aid convoys and relief workers in North Kordofan State, Sudan.

In a statement reported by SPA, secretary-general's spokesperson Jamal Rushdi quoted Aboul Gheit as saying the attack constitutes a war crime under international humanitarian law, which prohibits the deliberate targeting of civilians and depriving them of their means of survival.

Aboul Gheit stressed the need to hold those responsible accountable, end impunity, and ensure the full protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, and relief facilities in Sudan.