The US State Department has slammed the continued human rights violations in Algeria wherein security forces routinely detained individuals who participated in prohibited strikes or protests. Overuse of pretrial detention remained a problem in this North African country, said the US annual Human Rights Report. According to the US document, Algerian authorities held two leaders of the unregistered Ahmadi Muslim community in pretrial detention from February until May 2017 on charges related to their unauthorized religious activities. The US Human rights report also recalled the arrest in 2015 of Nacer Eddine Hadjadj, former mayor of Beriane municipality and member of the Rally for Culture and Democracy party, for intercommunal violence in Ghardaia. The report also said that Algerian authorities use antiterrorism laws and restrictive laws on freedom of expression and public assembly to detain political activists and outspoken critics of the government.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 23, 2018 16:07 UTC