Search Results for: algeria

The US Department of Defense (DOD) Thursday announced the transfer of Said bin Brahim bin Umran Bakush, a prisoner held at Guantanamo Bay, to Algeria. With his transfer, 30 detainees remain at Guantanamo Bay. In a statement, the DOD announced that Guantanamo’s Periodic Review Board (PRB) determined it was “no longer necessary” to hold Bakush [...]

Amnesty International Monday condemned the death sentences of 54 individuals linked by Algerian prosecutors to the lynching of activist Djamel Ben Smail amid wildfires in the Kabylie region in August 2021. Amnesty alleged that numerous fair trial violations occurred during the mass proceedings in November 2022. Amnesty also raised alarm about claims of torture and [...]

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch Tuesday called for the immediate release of Algerian activist Slimane Bouhafs. According to organizations, Algerian authorities have progressively employed the Algerian penal code’s wide definition of terrorism to prosecute activists and human rights defenders and targeted other critics among the Algerian diaspora with travel bans and extradition. In 2016, [...]

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Monday released its 2022 annual report, which noted “significant regress” in countries such as Afghanistan and the Central African Republic. As part of its report, USCIRF recommended that the US Department of State designate 15 countries as “countries of particular concern” (CPCs), as their governments are involved [...]

The US Department of Defense Saturday announced the repatriation of an Algerian citizen detained at Guantánamo Bay. This repatriation follows a five year delay from a hold by former President Trump on all detainee transfers from Guantánamo Bay. Sufiyan Barhoumi has been detained since 2002. He was captured in Pakistan following US military interventions in [...]

The EU Monday endorsed Spain’s decision to change its stance on Western Sahara. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez sent a letter to King Mohammed of Morocco on Friday expressing his support for Morocco’s plan to allow Western Sahara to be an autonomous region while being a part of the sovereign state of Morocco. Western Sahara [...]

The Russian-Ukrainian crisis started to deteriorate in early 2021 when Ukraine arrested pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk on allegations of conspiring a coup d’etat, and Russia initiated military exercises near the Ukrainian border. Russia is the second-largest oil producer, trailing only the United States, and the third-leading oil exporter, behind Saudi Arabia and the United Arab [...]

The US Department of State Wednesday removed Nigeria from its “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) list, which designates countries with “particularly severe” religious freedom concerns. This decision preceded Secretary Antony Blinken’s visit to Nigeria on Thursday and Friday to “discuss furthering cooperation on global health security, expanding energy access and economic growth, and revitalizing democracy.” [...]

Five international rights groups are urging Algerian authorities to drop their effort to dissolve a prominent civil society group over alleged violation of the law on associations, Human Rights Watch stated in a report on Monday. The five rights organizations are Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Cairo Institute of Human Rights Studies, the International [...]

South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation on Wednesday condemned the African Union (AU) Commission’s decision to award Israel observer status. Israel obtained the observer status last week when Aleleign Admasu, Israel’s Ambassador to Ethiopia, presented his credentials as an observer to the AU. At the same time, HE Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of [...]