The Court of Justice in Bouira, Algeria, has delivered a verdict in the case of 17 young protesters who were arrested during demonstrations in December 2017. The protests were held in support of the generalization of Tamazight language instruction in Bouira. The court's decision saw 15 of the accused acquitted, while two were sentenced to six months in prison with a suspended sentence.
The young protesters, including students and high school students, were initially charged with multiple offenses, including illegal gathering, disturbing public order, threatening public security, destroying public and private property, and assaulting police officers. They were arrested during demonstrations in December 2017.
In January 2018, the Bouira First Instance Tribunal found all 17 young protesters guilty and sentenced them to prison terms ranging from one to two years, along with fines of 100,000 Algerian Dinar each. However, their case was appealed, and on December 27, 2018, a collective of 22 lawyers from the Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights (LADDH) and the Socialist Forces Front (FFS) defended the accused.
The LADDH and FFS had called for the acquittal of all defendants and an end to the prosecution, denouncing what they described as a serious infringement on freedom of expression and the right to protest. The lawyers argued that the initial sentences were excessive and that the young protesters were exercising their legitimate rights.
The court's decision to acquit 15 of the young protesters and sentence two others to suspended prison terms was met with scenes of jubilation inside and outside the courtroom. The two individuals who received suspended sentences were found guilty of public property damage and assaulting law enforcement officers.
The case drew significant attention due to the large number of young people involved and the nature of the charges brought against them. Human rights organizations and the FFS had been closely following the case, expressing concerns about the impact of the initial verdicts on freedom of expression and assembly in Algeria.
The acquittal of 15 young protesters and the suspended sentences handed to the remaining two mark a relatively lenient conclusion to a case that had sparked concerns about youth activism and the limits of free speech in Algeria. The case highlights the ongoing debates about language rights, educational policies, and civic freedoms in the country.
Key points
- 15 of 17 young protesters were acquitted by the Court of Justice in Bouira.
- Two protesters were sentenced to six months in prison with a suspended sentence for public property damage and assaulting law enforcement officers.
- The case drew attention to issues of freedom of expression and the right to protest in Algeria.
