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ALGERIA: Freedom to organise and freedom of assembly violated once again

On Saturday 6 February 2016, the National Union of Public Administration Staff (Syndicat National des personnels de l’administration publique – SNAPAP), an Euromed Rights member organisation, organised a symposium on the socio-economic situation in Algeria at the Trade Unions House in Algiers. Representatives of other autonomous unions and civil society had also been invited to take part in the discussions.

On Saturday morning, a strong police presence was deployed to surround the Trade Unions House. The security forces prevented the meeting from being held and arrested six activists, who were subsequently transferred to the police station. They were released at around 3:30pm.

This obstruction is in clear violation of the law, which protects the freedom of assembly, particularly given the fact that it was a closed meeting held on private premises belonging to the SNAPAP. By the admission of the police officers who arrested the activists, the Wali of Algiers allegedly gave the order to prevent the meeting. Not having a legal basis, these arbitrary arrests did not, for the time being, give rise to prosecution. This abuse of power, however, provides further evidence of the police and judicial harassment suffered by human rights activists and autonomous trade unionists.

This violation of the rights to organise and assemble is the latest episode in a series of sustained violations undermining fundamental freedoms in Algeria.  These rights have come more and more under attack in an increasingly think-skinned government, hostile to civil society’s criticism and requests; a civil society that is increasingly struggling for space for expression and channels of communication with their decision-makers.

The population’s and civil society’s concerns regarding the socio-economic situation are nevertheless legitimate and should be taken into account by the government for the sake of inclusion and democratic participation in the conduct of public affairs.

EuroMed Rights urges the Algerian authorities to cease the harassment and repression conducted against trade unionists and human rights defenders. We also urge the European institutions to raise these issues during the dialogue they are conducting with the Algerian government. EuroMed Rights recalls that in April 2015 the European Parliament approved a resolution calling for an end to the harassment of autonomous trade unionists and respect for the freedom to organize and the freedom of assembly in Algeria.