Rabat – Algeria, after the arrest of one of his consular officials in France, did not have been accused of playing a role in the kidnapping of dissidents and political influencers Amir Boukhors, also known as Amir dz, on French soil.
In a strongly formulated opinion In the late Saturday, the Foreign Ministry in Algeria described the legal proceedings as a “hunting of judicial witches” and warned of serious consequences for Algerian-French relationships. The ministry claimed that the detention would not remain unanswered and called for the immediate release of the consular agent.
The French authorities have remained firm. A diplomatic source in Paris told AFP that the judiciary acted independently and is not influenced by political pressure.
On Friday, French prosecutors accused three men, including an employee of the Algerian consulate in France, with kidnapping and illegal detention in connection with a terrorist program. The indictment refers to the kidnapping and the short disappearance of Amir Boukhors in April 2024. All three suspects are now charged due to terrorist conspiracy and remain in custody.
Boukhors, a loud critic of the Algerian government, has lived in France since 2016. The Algerian authorities have repeatedly requested its delivery. France rejected these claims and granted him political asylum in 2023, citing risks of his security.
Algier has tried to shape the arrest of his diplomat as a violation of international standards and to accuse France of not following a diplomatic protocol. However, the civil servant in question was taken into custody in public and in the French area. The only link that questioned Algeria was the fact that the consular agent’s phone near Boukhors’ residence, an argument that the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs described as “absurd” and “rotten”.
However, the language used by the Algerian authorities has not contributed to awakening trust. With regard to Boukhors as “Énergumène” (a mocking term for a troublemaker), the ministry not only attacked the examination, but the man who survived a kidnapping on French soil.
The explanation pointed to the conspiracy and claimed that the French judiciary had implemented the efforts to reorganize the diplomatic dialogue between President Emmanuel Macron and the Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
The case ends up at a delicate time for Algerian-French relationships. Macron July 2024 approval Algian, which continues to support the separatist movement, the Polisario front, from Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara.
Relationships were further described according to the Algerian authorities arrested Writer Boualem Sansal.
Although Macron and Tebboune recently reopened the dialogue by calling on March late, the arrest has already threw a shadow of hopes for reconciliation. And while Algiers claims political persecution, France has decided to promote a legal procedure that is rooted in the protection of his sovereignty and rights of a man, which he sees as political refugees.
