Global Rights Group Amnesty International on Thursday said the Algerian authorities have increased their pre-election crackdown on protesters demonstrating against upcoming presidential elections.
The security forces have been forcibly dispersing peaceful demonstrations and imprisoning dozens of peaceful activists in recent weeks, especially since campaigning for the presidential elections began on November 17.
The protests first broke in February against Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s plan to run for a fifth term in office. Bouteflika was finally forced to quit in April under protests pressure after two decades.
Algerians have rejected the presidential elections set to take place on December 12. They argue that all the five candidates running for the post of the president, including two former prime ministers, belong to the Bouteflika-era political establishment and have all either supported the former president or had roles in his governments.
“Since campaigning for the presidential elections began, Algeria’s authorities have stepped up their assault on freedom of expression and assembly- signaling that they have little tolerance for Algerians calling for a change to the system,” said Heba Morayef, Middle East and North Africa Director at Amnesty International.
Morayef said millions of Algerians have continued with the weekly protests for 10 months proving that they believe in peaceful protest as a collective way to call for change. She added that instead of attacking peaceful protesters Algeria’s authorities should be upholding the rights of Algerians to demonstrate peacefully and express themselves freely.
According to human rights lawyers and the Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights, the arrests significantly increased with the start of the election campaigning with at least 300 people arrested between November 17 and 24.
Last month, an Algerian court sentenced four protesters to jail for 18 months for disrupting a presidential election candidate’s campaign.
