Family of Algerian blogger demand the release of medical file

The family of Mohamed Tamalt, a British-Algerian blogger who died in hospital last week after a three month hunger strike, have been refused access to his medical file.

A court in Tipaza ordered the results of Tamalt’s autopsy to be given to the family, according to the family’s lawyer Amine Sidhoum, however the report is likely to reveal little of the reasons behind his death.

Tamalt began his three month hunger strike this year to protest against his prison sentence of two years for criticising President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in a poem online.

“The family refused to sign the notification by bailiffs that specifies that lawyers filed an application to obtain the entire medical report from beginning to end,” Sidhoum explained.

The family’s lawyers filed a request to see the medical file yesterday. “They want to report the results to the family, but without giving the expert report drawn up by the prison doctor, the head of the resuscitation department and the forensic pathologist,” Sidhoum added.

Algerian authorities concluded that Tamalt died of a lung infection for which he was being treated whilst in hospital. However, his family are seeking further investigation into his death and hope the whole medical file will provide some answers into his condition before he died while in detention.