Algeria charges blogger with leaking details of arms deal

A blogger has been arrested and held in custody for “insulting” Algerian authorities and making public “secret” documents.

Abelhakim Mohandi, 30, was presented at court in Bir Mourad Raïs and charged for “making secret documents available to the public [and] illegal possession and spreading of information,” according to his lawyer, Amine Sidhoum.

Managing several pages on Facebook including the “Revolution of young Algerians” page, Mohandi shared a document relating to a transaction between the Directorate General of National Security (DGSN) and the Brazilian company Condor SA Quimica concerning the acquisition of 200,000 cartridges of tear gas in 2016.

Mohandi has also been charged with insulting an official state body through messages and photos posted online on his social media pages. Mohandi’s trial is scheduled to take place on 30 July.

Read: 3,000 cases of corruption recorded in Algeria since 2013