Algeria court convicts 4 people of spying for France

An Algerian court has handed prison terms to four people found guilty of providing employees of the French embassy in Algiers with “information and news that are detrimental to the economy and national security.”

“Six people, including agents working at the port and the international airport, were involved in the case,” according to the Algerian newspaper Echorouk.

The main defendant is an Algerian of dual nationality, based in France, where he was known as a drug dealer before his return to the country in 2010.

The defendant was accused of collecting and transmitting information to the French embassy that he visited frequently, and sending intelligence data via WhatsApp and Viber, according to the charges brought against him.

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The accused has categorically denied the charges and stated that he had no more than friendly exchanges with the staff of the French embassy.

The Algerian security services began investigating the case in 2018, leading to a trial that started on 10 November and ended with the convictions.

Both the man and his friend, a police officer at Algiers International Airport, have been jailed for seven years. A customs’ officer was also sentenced to three years in prison, while an intern at the airport received an 18 months prison term.