Algeria: Arrest of Karim Tabbou, figure of Hirak

Karim Tabbou, figure of the pro-democracy movement Hirak in Algeria, was arrested Friday evening at his home, announced several human rights organizations. The man had sharply criticized the conditions in which died another pro-Hirak activist, who died in prison after a post on Facebook.

The Algerian League for Human Rights (LADDH) announced the arrest of Mr. Tabbou, stating on its Facebook page: “We do not yet know the reasons for this new arrest”.

But this arrest of the figure of the anti-system and anti-military power movement in Algeria, just after he took a stand following the death of Hakim Debbazi, 55, leaves no doubt about the causal link in this country to the authoritarian system.

“Stop the instrumentalization of justice, opinion is not a crime”, denounced the National Committee for the Liberation of Detainees (CNLD), announcing the arrest of the activist “at his home”.

On April 26, Mr. Tabbou published on Facebook a “tribute to Hakim Debbazi”, 55, arrested in February for publications on social networks, whose death was announced earlier this week by the LADDH.

“Physically dead, the martyrs of just causes are more than alive,” says Mr. Tabbou in his publication, making the authorities responsible for his death following a cardiac arrest.

“Of course the power remains and will remain the one and only responsible for his death”, continues Mr. Tabbou in his message.

In his publication, Mr. Tabbou pays homage to Mr. Debbazi, whom he describes as “a child of the people, a modest and humble citizen, father of three children who had committed body and soul to the Hirak”.

According to Mr. Tabbou, the deceased had “taken on his frail shoulders, all the weight of the demands expressed in the Hirak”, of which he had become “one of the main leaders in his locality” of Hadjout (west).

“Let’s keep the sense of his sacrifice, let’s remain constant and continue our fight for the advent of the rule of law. Rest in peace Hakim, your fight will not be in vain, ”adds Mr. Tabbou in his publication.

Karim Tabbou had been convicted in March 2020 and served a one-year prison sentence for “undermining national security”, due to a video on his party’s Facebook page where he criticized the interference of the army in political affairs.

Leader of a small opposition party not approved by the authorities, the Democratic and Social Union (UDS), he is one of the most popular faces of Hirak, marked by major demonstrations from February 2019 until early 2020.

According to the CNLD, about 300 people are still imprisoned in Algeria in connection with the Hirak or the defense of individual freedoms.