27/11/2008
Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci on Wednesday (November 26th) accused France of holding Algerian state protocol chief Mohamed Ziane Hasseni hostage for the last four months, APS reported. The diplomat is on trial for suspected complicity in the 1987 murder of Algerian lawyer Ali Mecili in Paris. "France, a friendly and partner country, is holding as hostage one of the best Algerian diplomats under the pretext that that he is what he is not, which means there is a confusion of persons," he said, adding that France's actions breach the international human rights principles and the presumption of innocence. Hasseni was arrested August 14th in Marseille. Two weeks ago, he volunteered to take a DNA test to prove his innocence.