Algerian justice slow in Hassan Hattab case

26/06/2008

Hassan Hattab, former terrorist leader and founder of the GSPC, was recently identified as absent from Algerian prisoner rolls. Hattab turned himself in to authorities last year but has not yet been handed over to the justice system in a case that gets to the heart of the policy of national reconciliation.

By Achira Mammeri for Magharebia in Algiers – 26/06/08

[File] Whether GSPC founder Hassan Hattab is actually in Algerian custody remains unclear as his judicial case has repeatedly been delayed and his name does not appear on the national file of prisoners.

Terrorist leader Hassan Hattab, founder of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), does not appear on the Algerian justice ministry's national file of prisoners, despite his surrender on September 22nd, 2007. The news was revealed at a press conference in the capital on Sunday (June 22nd) by Mokhtar Felyoune, Director of the Prison and Rehabilitation Service.

Hattab's case has been the subject of intense debate since his surrender was announced last September by Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni and confirmed on October 29th when Zerhouni said the affair was "in the hands of the justice system".

His trial has been deferred on a number of occasions. The last date set was November 4th, 2007, but the presiding judge demanded the physical presence of the terrorist leader: "If there is no physical proof, Hassan Hattab's capture will continue to look like fantasy," said prosecutor Kahoul Abderrezak at the time.

The charges upon which he is being held include the creation of and membership in a terrorist organisation, possession of firearms, armed theft, premeditated murder and the use of explosives in a public place. The extent of his charges excludes him from the provisions of the charter for peace and national reconciliation, which has provided for the cancellation or reduction of sentences for a whole category of terrorists.

With his surrender, 33 judgements in absentia have been pronounced by the criminal courts in Tebessa, Algiers, Tizi-Ouzou and Boumerdès. There have also been conflicting statements by Algerian officials about Hattab's fate, leaving many to wonder whether the man is receiving special treatment.

The Algerian government launched a formal inquiry after Hattab's surrender, but a full ten months have passed without a single court appearance.

Opinions vary as to whether the infamous terrorist leader should be granted amnesty under the reconciliation charter. According to Merouane Azzi, chairman of the legal group responsible for implementing the charter, the case should not fall to the courts. "This is a political matter and its solution is in the hands of Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who has the constitutional authority to pardon him," he said.

Such a solution, Azzi continued, is not contrary to the spirit of the charter, stressing that the courts can make "exceptions in this case". He said any judgements in absentia against Hattab have no lasting value and that they return the course of justice to "square one".

Minister for Local Communities Daho Ould Kablia has called for vigilance in the fight against terrorism, saying the cases must be kept free from political manipulation. He stated on June 19th that the Algerian authorities have yet to speak of an end to terrorism: "As long as a single terrorist exists, the threat remains serious," he said.