Algerian authorities on Saturday arrested Lakhdar Bouregaa, a leader of the Algerian National Liberation Army, after he reportedly criticized military chief Ahmed Gaid Saleh, reported Yahoo News.
Bouregaa is a well-known veteran of the war of independence against France. He was a founder of the Front for Socialist Forces (FFS), one of Algeria’s oldest opposition parties.
The 86-year-old was arrested at his home in Hydra, Algeria, his grandson Imad Bouregaa told a local news website.
According to Imad, his grandfather, who is a supporter of the ongoing protests since the resignation of former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika on 2 April, was taken to an intelligence services base, in the nearby neighborhood of Ben Aknoun.
Imad told the DzVid news website that his grandfather’s arrest was likely due to the comments he made about Gaid Salah, Algeria’s strongman since the ouster in April of veteran president Bouteflika.
“My grandfather said that Gaid Salah wanted to impose his own candidate in presidential elections” to replace Bouteflika, he said.
National television reported that he had been detained for insulting a state body and undermining the morale of the army, charges for which he could face up to 10 years in prison.
Bouteflika was forced to resign following weeks of mass protests against his rule, only hours after close ally Gaid Salah demanded impeachment proceedings against him. The army chief has since been calling out for polls to choose a successor. But the presidential election planned on July 4 was scrapped after the only two candidates were rejected.
The people of Algeria are seeking for a complete political overhaul. They want the departure of interim President Abdelkader Bensalah and Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui, both seen as part of the elite that has ruled the North African country since independence from France in 1962.
The army chief Salah has also urged the judiciary to investigate all people suspected of being involved in corruption. There have been a number of arrests including that of Bouteflika’s youngest brother, Said, former prime ministers Abdelmalek Sellal and Ahmed Ouyahia, two former intelligence chiefs, and several prominent businessmen.
