Algeria: complications in new round of terrorism trials

06/11/2007

Courts across Algeria have begun hearing a new round of terrorism-related cases. Complications in the trials of Hassan Hattab and Abderrazzak Barra have raised questions about communications between the authorities and the judiciary.

By Said Jameh for Magharebia in Algiers – 06/11/07

[Getty Images] Although Yazid Zerhouni said GSPC founder Hassan Hattab had surrendered, an Algiers court said his status was "non-arrested".

In a new round of reviews launched on October 24th, Algerian courts have begun hearing some 300 terrorism-related cases for trial. This is the second round of hearings since the government suspended the examination of terrorism cases under the National Peace and Reconciliation Law in order to allow more militants to lay down arms.

Defendants in the new trials include former and current members of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), its successor group, al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb and other groups.

The accused face charges including affiliation with an armed terrorist group, carrying out acts of violence and sabotage, and supporting terrorist groups.

Some of the trials concluded without incident. In Boumerdès province, one of the most important strongholds of al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb, the city court handed down death sentences on October 29th to four convicted terrorists and life in prison to seven more.

But complications have arisen in the trials of former GSPC leaders believed to be in police custody, particularly those of Hassan Hattab and Abderrazzak Barra.

Hattab, the founder of the former GSPC, surrendered to Algerian authorities on September 22nd. Negotiations to enable Hattab to benefit from the Charter for National Peace and Reconciliation broke down, however, due to differences over his legal status and whether he would benefit from a full pardon.

Hattab, who was scheduled to go on trial before the news of the surrender broke out, failed to appear on November 4th.

The situation of Barra, the former emir of the GSPC's Ninth District who orchestrated the kidnapping of German tourists in February 2003, is similar. He was arrested in Chad and transferred to Libya before being extradited to Algeria in October 2004. Although he has been put on trial several times, most recently on March 17th, he has never appeared before a court.

Hattab's absence on November 4th was a point of contention between the judge and members of the defence team, who insisted that prisoners in government custody cannot be tried in absentia. The judge responded that Hattab had a 'non-arrested' status, and excluded his name when reading the list of defendants.

Defence attorney Yahia Chemli told Magharebia that Hattab is indeed under arrest. He cited Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni's statements on Algerian radio, confirming the surrender of a "repentant" Hattab, but stating he must defend himself in court against terrorism charges.

Prosecutor-General Abdel Ghafour Kahul, however, said the case file provided no legal documents confirming Hattab's arrest, and that the fact could not be confirmed by oral statements.

Citing an absence of witnesses and incomplete legal procedures related to the arrests of Hattab and two of six co-defendants, the presiding judge adjourned the hearing until the next round of terrorism-related trials in early 2008.

The complication raises the question of how well the authorities are communicating with the judiciary, and why Hattab and Barra have not appeared before the courts.

The Interior Ministry has avoided commenting on the Hattab and Barra cases.