Algeria issues prison terms to senior Bouteflika-era officials in corruption case

Algeria’s former Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal (L) and Rally for National Democracy (RND)’s interim secretary general, Ahmed Ouyahia, attend an extraordinary meeting of the RND on 5 May, 2016, in Algiers [FAROUK BATICHE/AFP via Getty Images]

An Algerian quote yesterday sentenced two former prime ministers to 12 years in prison and fined them around $10,000 each on corruption charges in a case tied to the illegal financing of the election campaign of deposed President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

The Sidi M’Hamed court sentenced former Prime Ministers Ahmed Ouyahia and Abdelmalek Sellal on charges that included wasting public funds, abusing their power as senior officials and conflict of interest.

In the same case, the court handed down prison terms that ranged between two and 20 years in jail to eight former ministers from the Bouteflika era.

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Another key defendant in the case is business tycoon Ali Haddad, who was sentenced to 18 years in jail. The court also ordered the confiscation of all his assets and sentenced four of his brothers to four years in jail each.

Bouteflika served as president of Algeria for 20 years before he resigned following mass protests against his rule. Revolutionaries said that his era was marred by corruption and political repression.

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