An Algerian court on Thursday charged rights activist Zaki Hannache of “praising terrorism” and spreading “false news” and remanded him into custody, a rights group said. Hannache, 32, was a prominent figure in the Hirak mass protest movement which forced veteran president Abdelaziz Bouteflika from office in 2019, and he had continued to use social media to speak out for Hirak activists in detention.
The CNLD prisoners’ rights group said the authorities had detained him on February 18, raiding his house and confiscating his phone. He was charged on Thursday on the orders of a judge in the capital Algiers, it said. The group added that Hannache was facing charges of “apology for terrorism, attacking national integrity and unity, and publishing false news”.
His arrest comes two days after the third anniversary of the Hirak, which had been sparked by Bouteflika’s bid for a fifth term in office. The 82-year-old quit on April 2, 2019 after two decades in power and died last September. More than 300 people are currently in detention in Algeria over links to the Hirak or rights activism, the CNLD says.
