ALGERIA: ARBITRARY DETENTION OF MILITANT MOHAMED RIAHI

The International League Against Arbitrary Detention urges the government of Algeria to take all necessary measures to implement Opinion No. 29/2024 of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concerning Mohamed Riahi (Algeria), starting with granting him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations in accordance with international law.

Read the full WGAD opinion on Mohamed Riahi (Algeria): Opinion No. 29/2024.

ARREST OF A POLITICAL ACTIVIST AND ALLEGATIONS OF TORTURE

Mr. Riahi is an Algerian citizen born in 1984 who habitually resides in Aïn Témouchent. He has campaigned for democracy in Algeria, participating in all Hirak protests since February 2019, although the movement was repressed from 2020 onwards. Mr. Riahi had reportedly already been arrested once in September 2020 and convicted for a social media post criticizing government policies, before being pardoned by the President in April 2021. 

On November 19, 2022, according to the source, he was arrested again near his workplace. Without being shown a warrant or the reasons for his arrest, he was taken to his home, which was then searched. Mr. Riahi was then taken to a location unknown to his family. Mr. Riahi was reportedly held in police custody at the General Directorate of Internal Security for 11 days, during which, according to the source, he was allegedly tortured. On November 29, 2022, he was reportedly brought before the Public Prosecutor and informed of the charges brought against him: the offense of insulting a law enforcement officer while on duty; the offense of insulting the President of the Republic by electronic means; the crime of migrant smuggling committed by an organized criminal group; and the offense of exposing to public view for propaganda purposes leaflets likely to harm the national interest, based respectively on articles 144 and 144 bis, 303 bis 32, and 96 of the Penal Code.

On the same day, Mr. Riahi was brought before the investigating judge the Aïn Trémouchent court, who ordered his pre-trial detention. An appeal of this decision was rejected. On December 4, 2022, Mr. Riahi reportedly denounced the acts of torture he had allegedly suffered to the Public Prosecutor. Mr. Riahi was brought before the Criminal Court of First Instance on February 11, 2024 to stand trial for the crime of exposing to public view for the purpose of propaganda leaflets likely to harm the national interest and the crime of migrants smuggling committed by an organized criminal group, the other charges having been dropped. During the trial, Mr. Riahi reportedly reiterated his denunciation of the torture he allegedly suffered. Although the prosecutor claimed to have received the complaint 11 months earlier, he failed to explain his inaction. The judge reportedly did not dismiss the information allegedly obtained from Mr. Riahi under torture, and sentenced him to eighteen months in prison and a fine of 50,000 dinars for the crime of exposing to public view for the purpose of propaganda leaflets of a nature to harm the national interest, while acquitting him of the crime of smuggling migrants.

The Algerian government was given the opportunity to challenge the source's allegations, which it did on July 11, 2024.

According to the Government, Mr. Riahi served his sentence and was released on May 29, 2024. However, in view of the circumstances of his arrest and the alleged violations against him, the Working Group has decided to render its opinion on Mr. Riahi's deprivation of liberty despite his release.

ARRESTED WITHOUT WARRANT AND DETAINED INCOMMUNICADO WITHOUT PROMPT PRESENTATION TO A JUDGE AND WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO CHALLENGE THE LEGALITY OF HIS DETENTION

The source first alleged that Mr. Riahi had been arrested without being presented with an arrest warrant. In the absence of any response from the government on this point, the Working Group considered that Mr. Riahi had not been presented with an arrest warrant nor the reasons for his arrest at the time of his arrest, in violation of article 9 of the Covenant and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Secondly, Mr. Riahi was not brought before a judge until 11 days after his arrest, according to the source. The government responded that Mr. Riahi's custody had been extended several times by the public prosecutor's office, in accordance with national legislation. Recalling that compliance with national provisions does not waive a State’s obligations under international human rights law, the Working Group concluded that Mr. Riahi had not been brought before a judge within the shortest possible time, contrary to the provisions of article 9 (3) of the Covenant and article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Finally, Mr. Riahi was reportedly held incommunicado for five days, without access to his family or a lawyer. The Working Group considered that this violated Mr. Riahi's right to challenge the legality of his detention before a court, as provided for in article 9 of the Covenant and articles 3 and 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Working Group therefore concluded that Mr. Riahi's arrest and detention were arbitrary under category I.

DETAINED FOR EXERCISING HIS FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

The source stated that Mr. Riahi was arrested and detained for expressing his pacifist opinions critical of public policies and for participating in the Hirak movement. In addition, the source explained that the provisions of the Penal Code used to prosecute Mr. Riahi incriminated the exercise of freedom of expression and opinion, as well as the freedom of peaceful assembly and association. The government did not respond to the source's allegations, which fell under category II. In this way, the Working Group noted that some of the charges against Mr. Riahi related directly to freedom of expression, and that in this case it had not been demonstrated that Mr. Riahi's speeches fell within the limitations of this freedom. The Working Group therefore concluded that there had been a violation of article 19 of the Covenant and of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Similarly, the Working Group considered that Mr. Riahi's arrest was linked to his active participation in the Hirak movement and therefore fell within the exercise of his rights to peaceful assembly and association, protected by articles 21 and 22 of the Covenant and article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

For these reasons, the Working Group concluded that Mr. Riahi's detention was arbitrary under category II, as it resulted from the exercise of his rights to freedom of expression and opinion, peaceful assembly and freedom of association.

DENIED ACCESS TO A LAWYER AND VIOLATION OF HIS RIGHT NOT TO CONFESS GUILTY

According to the source, Mr. Riahi was denied access to a lawyer at the time of his arrest and while in police custody. According to the government, he waived his right to be assisted by his lawyer for his appearance before the public prosecutor and the investigating judge. Without providing details as to when Mr. Riahi was informed of his right to assistance by a lawyer, and in view of its previous conclusion on Mr. Riahi's incommunicado detention, the Working Group considered that Mr. Riahi had been deprived of access to a lawyer, at least at the beginning of his police custody, and during his interrogations, in violation of his right to prepare his defense with the assistance of a lawyer of his own choosing, provided for in article 14 (3)(b) and (d) of the Covenant.

With regard to the source's allegations that Mr. Riahi had been tortured and ill-treated during his detention and interrogations, the Government replied that they were unfounded and that a doctor had consulted Mr. Riahi without finding any trace of ill-treatment or torture in November 2022. The Working Group considered that the government had not convincingly refuted the source's allegations of torture and had not carried out a thorough investigation to ensure that no evidence had been obtained under torture following Mr. Riahi's complaint. It therefore concluded that there had been a violation of article 14 and articles 10 and 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Working Group did not reach any conclusion on the existence of a search warrant or its validity.

In view of the foregoing, the Working Group concluded that the violations of Mr. Riahi's right to a fair trial were of such gravity as to render his detention arbitrary under category III.

DISCRIMINATED FOR HIS POLITICAL OPINIONS

According to the source, Mr. Riahi was targeted for his participation in the Hirak protests and his critical stances against Algerian public policies. The government refuted these allegations, but not enough to convince the Working Group. Thus, the Working Group concluded that Mr. Riahi had been deprived of his liberty for discriminatory reasons, in this case his political opinions. Articles 2 and 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 2 (1) and 26 of the Covenant had therefore been violated, rendering Mr. Riahi's detention arbitrary under category V.

CONCLUSIONS OF THE UNITED NATIONS WORKING GROUP AGAINST ARBITRARY DETENTION

In light of the above, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention considered that Mohamed Riahi's deprivation of liberty was arbitrary and fell within categories I, II, III and V, as it violated articles 2, 3, 7, 9, 10, 11, 19 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 2, 9, 14, 19, 21, 22 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention recommended that the Algerian government take the necessary measures to remedy Mr. Riahi's situation without delay and bring it into line with the relevant international standards. The Group considered that, given all the circumstances of the case, the appropriate remedy would be to grant him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law.