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Algeria to investigate former presidential candidate on defamation charges

January 5, 2015 at 2:58 pm

The Algerian attorney general announced on Sunday that former presidential candidate Said Sadi will be investigated for libel against three national figures, including the country’s first president, Ahmed Ben Bella, the Anadolu Agency has reported. Sadi is reported to have made his remarks during a symposium held on 2 January. Apart from Ben Bella, Sadi is alleged to have insulted former head of state Ali Kafi, who ruled Algeria between 1992 and 1994, and national figure Messali Hadj.

A statement from the attorney general confirmed that the public prosecutor at the Sidi M’Hamed court made the decision to investigate Sadi because “his remarks are libellous” and are thus punishable under Algeria’s Penal Code.

Said Sadi is the former leader of the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD); he stood in presidential elections in 1995 and 2004. He accused late President Ahmed Ben Bella of working as an agent under the former commander of Egyptian intelligence, Fathi Al-Deeb. He also alleged that Ali Kafi was an enemy of the Amazigh people. Speaking at the seminar, Sadi said that he was “shocked” by the decision to name Tlemcen Airport after Messali Hadj who had, he claimed, “betrayed the revolution.”

Responding to the charges on his Facebook page, Sadi said that he takes “full responsibility” for his comments in the seminar.