Case History: Khencha Belkacem
On 11 March 2015, the appeal will be heard against the conviction of Messrs Khencha Belkacem, Brahimi Belelmi, Mazouzi Benallal, Azzouzi Boubakeur, Korini Belkacem, Bekouider Faouzi, Bensarkha Tahar and Djaballah Abdelkader on charges related to participating in an “unauthorised gathering” and “exercising pressure on the decisions of Judges”.
Khencha Belkacem is a member of the Comité National pour la Défense des Droits de Chômeurs - CNDDC (National Committee for the Defence of the Rights of Unemployed Workers), which works to promote labour rights.
On 11 March 2015, the appeal will be heard against the conviction of Messrs Khencha Belkacem, Brahimi Belelmi, Mazouzi Benallal, Azzouzi Boubakeur, Korini Belkacem, Bekouider Faouzi, Bensarkha Tahar and Djaballah Abdelkader on charges related to participating in an “unauthorised gathering” and “exercising pressure on the decisions of Jud
The appeal is against the decision of the First Instance Tribunal of Laghouat on 11 February 2015 to sentence the eight human rights defenders to twelve months' imprisonment with six months' suspended. Following the sentencing, all the human rights defenders began a hunger strike. On 21 February 2014, they suspended their hunger strike after an official from the public prosecution visited them in detention and promised to schedule their appeal trial date on 11 March 2015.
The charges relate to the human rights defenders' participation on 28 January 2015 in a protest against outside a court in Laghouat. The protest was against the trial of Mr Mohamed Rag, a human rights defender and member of CNDDC who was on trial, and subsequently sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment, for allegedly “assaulting a security force agent in the exercise of his duties” under Article 148 of the Penal Code, charges Mohamed Rag denies. The Police ordered their arrest during the protest to “prevent potential trouble to the public order”.
