Algeria rights group to prosecute France for nuclear tests

A human rights organisation that defends victims of French nuclear tests in Algeria announced that it is preparing a judicial file to be submitted to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in response to France’s failure to respond to the Algerians’ repeated demands for compensation for the victims of nuclear explosions in the south of the country, Echorouk news site reported.

ICAN Algeria, which describes itself as “the office that defends the interests of Algerian men and women, who suffered from French heinous nuclear crimes in Algeria from 1960 to 1966,” said in a statement, “France does not want to recognise the horrendous crimes it committed in Algeria.”

“We are determined to defend this just and noble cause, but French politicians always sell us mirages,” the statement said.

“President Emmanuel Macron pledged action on the matter in his election campaign of 2017, but immediately after his election he changed his words and today he questions even our origin and our separation. Yes, he began to question the existence of the Algerian nation before France brutally colonised our land.”

The organisation has previously setup a digital platform to allow Algerians to submit details “in the effort to file this lawsuit against the French state.”

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had stressed that Algeria will continue to demand compensation from France for the victims of the nuclear explosions. Algerian officials have also repeatedly asked France to hand over topographic maps related to the French nuclear explosions, to help identify and cleanse the areas of nuclear radiation, but they have received no response regarding this matter.

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