Algeria refuses to send citizen to be prosecuted in France

Algerian Minister of Justice Tayeb Louh said yesterday that his country does not hand over its citizens to be prosecuted in other countries, local media reported.

Louh’s remarks came after France demanded businessman Abdulmumen Khalifa attend his trial, which started on Monday.

“Based on article 698 of the criminal procedural code, Algeria does not hand over its citizens to be prosecuted abroad,” he said.

On December 24 last year, Britain extradited Khalifa, who was convicted for a life sentence in absentia in 2007 for embezzlement and fraud, to Algeria.

An Algerian Supreme Court overturned the 2007 ruling and gave Khalifa and 50 other plaintiffs a new trail.

Khalifa’s trial started on Monday in France and is expected to continue until June 20. He is charged with bankruptcy through embezzlement and fraud. France asked Algeria to send Khalifa to attend his hearing, however they received no reply.

The bankruptcy of Al-Khalifa Group, which included a number of companies in Algeria, France, Britain and Germany, caused the layoff of 20,000 employees and losses of between $1.5 to $5 billion.