ALGERIA JAILS DEPOSED PRESIDENT'S BROTHER.

Said Bouteflika, brother of Algerian president, attends the funeral of late Algerian singer Warda Al-Jazairia, one of the most famous singers in the Arab world, at the El-Alia cemetery in Algiers, in this May 19, 2012.
Image: AFP.

Algers, ALGERIA:
An Algerian military court on Wednesday sentenced the brother of deposed President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and three co-defendants to 15 years in prison in a swift verdict delivered out of sight of the media.

Said Bouteflika, widely seen as the real power behind the presidency after his brother suffered a debilitating stroke in 2013, went on trial on Monday alongside two former intelligence chiefs and a political party head.

Their convictions are the most high-profile in a string of prosecutions of prominent politicians and businessmen over alleged graft launched since Bouteflika was pushed out in April after two decades in power.

All four defendants were convicted of "undermining the authority of the army" and "conspiring" against the state, in the run-up to the ageing president's resignation in the face of mass protests earlier this year.

Prosecutors at the military court in Blida, south of Algiers, had asked for the maximum sentence of 20 years against all the defendants, defense lawyer Miloud Ibrahimi said.

Former Defense Minister Khaled Nezzar has said that as protests mounted against the veteran leader, Said Bouteflika proposed declaring a state of emergency and firing army chief General Ahmed Gaid Salah.

Lawyers for Workers' Party chief Louisa Hanoune have admitted she met the president's brother and General Mohamed Mediene on March 27, a day after Gaid Salah publicly called for the ailing president to step down.

Hanoune, Mediene — who headed the all-powerful secret service for 25 years — and fellow ex-spy chief General Athmane Tartag were all given 15 years alongside Said Bouteflika, state news agency APS reported.

Defence counsel expressed indignation at the trial's speed and lack of transparency.

"I have absolutely nothing to say about this trial except that we will appeal," defense lawyer Miloud Brahimi said.

One of Mediene's lawyers, Farouk Ksentini, said he was "surprised by the severity of the verdict."

One of the lawyers for Hanoune's Workers Party, Ramdan Tazibt, said the trial was "political" and an "attack on democracy".

He said counsel for Hanoune had "showed there was no reason for her to be detained let alone convicted."

Nezzar, his son Lofti, and a former businessman Farid Benhamdine, were all sentenced to 20 years in absentia, APS said.

The retired general has for weeks been on the run in Spain, where he has been joined by his son, according to Algerian media reports.

Nezzar was at the head of the army in 1992 when it cancelled the electoral process, denying Islamist groups a victory at the polls and pitching the country into a devastating, decade-long civil war.

A Swiss court in mid-2018 cleared the way for Nezzar to face war crimes charges after he was arrested in Switzerland.

In a complaint filed by rights group TRIAL International, a group of alleged victims accused him of torture and arbitrary arrests.

Said Bouteflika's detention in May was part of a wave of arrests targeting the ousted president's inner circle.

But many fear they are little more than a high-level purge and a power struggle between still-powerful regime insiders, rather than a genuine effort to reform the state.

The hearings were restricted to lawyers and defendants' families, with media kept out of the courtroom.

Mediene, whose health has been deteriorating according to his family, arrived in court in a wheelchair and asked for an adjournment, according to defense lawyers. The judge consulted a doctor and turned down the request.

Known as Toufik, Mediene headed the all-powerful DRS intelligence agency from its foundation in 1990 up to his fall from grace in 2015.

Tartag, his deputy, succeeded Mediene and when the DRS was dismantled in 2016 he served as Algeria's security coordinator under the supervision of the presidency.

Presidential elections have now been set for Dec. 12.

But protesters have kept up demands for political reforms and the removal of the former president's loyalists, including army chief Gaid Salah, who has emerged as Algeria's strongman since Bouteflika's fall.

Comments

CUBA CLAIMS CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER IS FIDEL CASTRO'S SON.

The suicide note left by Fidel Castro’s eldest son has rocked the Cuban nation this week, with the most astonishing revelation being the claim that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was his half-brother and the son of the late Fidel Castro. The handwritten note left by Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart, 68, the eldest of Fidel Castro’s children, appears to confirm the longstanding rumor in Cuba that Fidel Castro fathered Justin Trudeau after a public tryst with Margaret Trudeau in 1970. “ Castro Diaz-Balart, who had been attended by a group of doctors for several months due to a state of profound depression, committed suicide this morning ,” Cubadebate website reported. The death of the high-profile government nuclear scientist, also known as “Fidelito”, or Little Fidel, because of how much he looked like his father, stunned the nation, however it is his “ explosive ” suicide note that has set tongues wagging in Havana. Amid a wide-ranging barrage of compl...

THE TRIBE THAT WORSHIPS PRINCE PHILIP AS 'GOD'

Prince Philip corresponded with the villagers over the years, and sent pictures of himself holding a ceremonial club they gave him. Image: REUTERS. Tanna, VANNUATU: As Britons mourn the death of Prince Philip, they are joined by a tribal community on a Pacific island half a world away. For decades, two villages on the Vanuatuan island of Tanna have revered the Duke of Edinburgh as a god-like spiritual figure. A formal period of mourning is now under way. On Monday, 12, April, scores of tribespeople gathered in a ceremony to remember Prince Philip. Image: REUTERS. "The connection between the people on the island of Tanna and the English people is very strong... We are sending condolence messages to the Royal Family and the people of England," said tribal leader Chief Yapa, according to Reuters news agency. For the next few weeks, villagers will periodically meet to conduct rites for the duke, who is seen as a "recycled descendant of a very powerful spirit or god th...

MALARIA VACCINE PROVES HIGHLY EFFECTIVE IN BURKINA FASO.

A vaccine against malaria has been shown to be highly effective in trials in Africa, holding out the real possibility of slashing the death toll of a disease that kills 400,000 mostly small children every year. The vaccine, developed by scientists at the Jenner Institute of Oxford University, showed up to 77% efficacy in a trial of 450 children in Burkina Faso over 12 months. The hunt for a malaria vaccine has been going on the best part of a century. One, the Mosquirix vaccine developed by GlaxoSmithKline, has been through lengthy clinical trials but is only partially effective, preventing 39% of malaria cases and 29% of severe malaria cases among small children in Africa over four years. It is being piloted by the World Health Organization in parts of Kenya, Ghana and Malawi. The Oxford vaccine is the first to meet the WHO goal of 75% efficacy against the mosquito-borne parasite disease. Larger trials are now beginning, involving 4,800 children in four countries. Prof ...

BEES 'ARRESTS' SUSPECTED THIEVES IN UGANDA.

Bees 'handcuffed' one of the suspects around the wrist, while another had the TV set reportedly stuck on his hands. Image: Daily Monitor. Kampala, UGANDA: Two burglars who are suspected to have stolen a television set in Sofiia village, Busia Town in eastern Uganda are in police custody after they were attacked by a swarm of bees. Like police would handcuff a suspect, a swarm of bees mobbed the hands of one of the suspects, while another reportedly had the TV set stuck on his hands as they returned the stolen items to where they had been picked from. Ms Rashida Jowelia, the owner of the property, said her TV set was stolen from her house last Friday, but she decided to seek the services of a medicine man in Sofia Village rather than report the matter to police. The suspects were identified as Wycliffe Kinara and Richard Duki, both Kenyan nationals from Nakuru. Bees 'handcuffed' one of them around the wrist, while another had the TV set reportedly stuck on his hands...

NIGERIAN-BORN TO BE FIRST BLACK DEPUTY TREASURY SECRETARY OF U.S

Washington DC, U.S: Speaking at a Washington think tank in the summer of 2016, Adewale Adeyemo, President Barack Obama’s international economics adviser, warned about the perils of protectionism, explained how a growing Chinese economy was good for the world and talked up the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal he helped negotiate that Democrats ultimately rejected. Four years later, such talk might sound out of touch with a Democratic Party that has become even more hawkish on China and increasingly wary of sprawling international trade deals. But that was not a concern for President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., who this week tapped Mr. Adeyemo to be deputy Treasury secretary, solidifying his team with another stalwart veteran of the Obama administration who would bring center-left economic ideas, deep experience and diversity to Mr. Biden’s top ranks. Adewale "Wally" Adeyemo (born 1981) is a Nigerian-born American attorney and political advisor serving as the first presi...

A 26-YEARS-OLD WOMAN ADOPTS 14 AFRICAN ORPHANS.

London, ENGLAND: A young British woman has become mum to a staggering 14 Tanzanian children she met after volunteering in an orphanage on her gap year. Letty McMaster, 26, was just 18 years old when a month-long trip volunteering at an orphanage in Africa changed her life forever. She ended up staying for three years to support the children she had met, and when the orphanage shut down, Letty took in nine youngsters who would have been left homeless. Seven years on, she lives with the children after becoming legal guardian to them ALL - as well as five more kids she met on the streets or at a safe house she runs. Letty McMaster. Letty, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, said: "These children are my whole life, I raise them all on my own and they keep me going through the long hours of juggling everything. "I'd always had in mind that I wanted to help street children so my family and friends weren't surprised but I never expected to end up doing all this. " I am the pa...

CAR STOLEN BY KENYAN EX-MINISTER FOUND ABANDONED.

Nairobi, KENYA: A classic Mercedes Benz stolen from a showroom in Nairobi by former minister Paul Ngei has been found in a deplorable state. Photos of the car which were shared on social media showed it mounted on stones and without wheels, its bonnet wide open and its paint cracking up. The Mercedes Benz 300SEL registration number KNM 190 was a premium car in its heyday. Paul Joseph Ngei (18 October 1923 – 15 August 2004) was a Kenyan politician who was imprisoned for his role in the anti-colonial movement, but who went on to hold several government ministerial positions after Kenya became independent. Paul Ngei walked into the famous car showroom in Nairobi (DT Dobie) in the 1970s and drove away with the vehicle never to return or pay for it. At the time of its release, it was the world's fastest four-door car and when Ngei was pushed to pay for the vehicle, he would always refer the agents to State House and ask them to send the bill there. The rogue minister drove the car for m...

CHINA BANS WORKERS FROM DRINKING ALCOHOL AFTER WORK.

Beijing, CHINA: Chinese authorities have released regulations to ban civil servants from drinking alcohol outside their working hours to boost their work performance and improve the government’s image. The move can help state employees concentrate on their work and avoid mistakes, according to official media. It is also deemed crucial in the prevention of bribery, which often takes place during lavish, out-of-office meals that feature liquor. Communist officials, civil servants and staff in state-run firms must not drink after work on weekdays, according to the rules which have been rolled out in multiple Chinese regions. Similar rules are now being enforced in multiple regions – including the city of Nanjing and the provinces of Gansu and Qinghai. While some local authorities have in the past cracked down on work-related drinking events, the recent push prohibits the consumption of alcohol in officials’ private time on weekdays completely. In the county of Qingcheng in Gansu, gov...

MOHAMMED SALAH PRAISED FOR SAVING A HOMELESS MAN FROM YOBS.

London, ENGLAND: A Liverpool city Homeless man, Daniel Craig has hailed Mohamed Salah a hero after the Liverpool forward ticked off a group of yobs harassing him shortly after beating Arsenal. Mohamed Salah has been hailed a 'real-life hero' after stepping in to fend off yobs hassling a homeless man. The Liverpool star spotted the altercation as he pulled into a petrol station. The incident happened on September 28 - the same day the Reds beat Arsenal 3-1 in the Premier League at Anfield. The gas station is near the Liverpool ground and is usually frequented by homeless man Daniel Craig. It was here where a group of yobs started hassling the 50-year-old, taunting him over his living situation. Salah had pulled up in his Bentley and witnessed what was going on. The Egyptian got out of his car and gave the gang a scolding, telling them that they could be in the same situation. It was enough to see the group disperse and at this point, Salah went to a cash machine to withdraw £100...

THOUSANDS OF FAKE COVID-19 VACCINES HAVE BEEN SEIZED IN SOUTH AFRICA & CHINA.

File photo - Interpol Secretary-General Jurgen Stock Image: africanews. Lyon, FRANCE: Police have seized thousands of counterfeit coronavirus vaccines in South Africa and China and have made more than 80 arrests after a criminal network selling fake jabs was uncovered, Interpol said on Wednesday. In South Africa, police officers found 400 ampoules of fake vaccines, equivalent to around 2,400 doses, at a warehouse just outside Johannesburg. A large quantity of fake 3M masks was also found and police arrested three Chinese nationals and a Zambian national. Police in South Africa seized hundreds of fake COVID-19 vaccines and made several arrests following a global alert issued by INTERPOL. In China, police successfully identified a network selling counterfeit COVID-19 vaccines, raided the manufacturing premises, resulting in the arrest of some 80 suspects, and seized more than 3,000 fake vaccines on the scene. The investigation was supported and coordinated by Interpol’s Illicit Goods ...

Kioo17 Journal

Search This Blog