• New briefing reveals how dozens of critics of the State of Siege have been arbitrarily detained in North Kivu and Ituri provinces
• Despite the State of Siege being extended 22 times, the number of civilians killed by armed groups has doubled over the last year, according to the United Nations
• Amnesty calls for the lifting of abusive restrictions and the release of all arbitrarily detained individuals

A State of Siege, which is similar to a state of emergency, enforced in the North Kivu and Ituri provinces by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) authorities since May 2021 has been used as a tool to crush dissent, with two human rights activists killed by security forces and dozens of activists arbitrarily detained on trumped-up charges, Amnesty International said today in a new briefing.

In total disregard of the law, defence and security forces have been given broad powers that are not justified by the stated purpose of the state of siege, which they have used to silence anyone who demands accountability for the state’s actions in the conflict-stricken provinces of North Kivu and Ituri

Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International's Director for East and Southern Africa

The briefing, ‘Justice and freedoms under siege in North Kivu and Ituri’, details how military and police authorities have used sweeping powers to silence individuals deemed critical of the State of Siege, including members of parliament, pro-democracy activists and human rights workers, since the state of siege was first put in place on 3 May 2021. It also shows how the authorities are using military courts to prosecute state critics in unfair trials.

“In total disregard of the law, defence and security forces have been given broad powers that are not justified by the stated purpose of the state of siege, which they have used to silence anyone who demands accountability for the state’s actions in the conflict-stricken provinces of North Kivu and Ituri,” said Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southern Africa. 

“President Felix Tshisekedi must lift all human rights restrictions and ensure that the State of Siege does not become a permanent regime by outlining a clear schedule for ending the restrictions.”

A steep increase in civilian deaths

President Tshisekedi declared that he introduced the State of Siege with the aim to combat armed groups and protect civilians. The number of civilian casualties from armed conflict in the region, however, has more than doubled in the past year. 

Between June 2020 and March 2021, 559 civilians were killed amid armed conflict in North-Kivu and Ituri. According to the United Nations, the number of civilian deaths between June 2021 and March 2022 rose to at least 1,261.

In a report released in August 2021, the National Assembly’s Defence and Security Committee said that “killings, massacres, rapes, robberies… have intensified in the areas concerned.”

A vicious crackdown on critics

Military authorities in North Kivu and Ituri have used broad powers given to them under the State of Siege to suppress any form of protest or criticism. Human rights activists and MPs who have criticized the measure’s legality, duration or effectiveness have been labelled “enemies of the state” and subjected to arbitrary arrest and prosecution — and in two cases documented killed.

At least two peaceful activists have died as a result of authorities’ crackdown on critics, including 22-year-old Mumbere Ushindi, who was shot by police during a protest against state of siege’s failure to stop the killing of civilians. He died of his gunshot wounds on 24 January 2022. Before the demonstration, a police commander threatened to “crush” anyone who dared to protest.

President Felix Tshisekedi must lift all human rights restrictions and ensure that the State of Siege does not become a permanent regime by outlining a clear schedule for ending the restrictions

Deprose Muchena

La Fontaine Katsaruhande, a 21-year-old activist working with the Fight for Change (LUCHA) movement, had his right leg amputated after being shot by a policeman on 21 September 2021 at a peaceful protest also denouncing the continuation of civilian deaths despite the state of siege.

Four provincial MPs and one national MP have been arbitrarily arrested and prosecuted simply for speaking out against the deteriorating security situation and abuses of power by military and police authorities.

In addition, journalists have faced repeated attacks for doing their work, including by non-state actors, which the authorities have failed to investigate. At least three journalists have been killed in North Kivu and Ituri since the State of Siege was declared, according to Journalistes En Danger (JED), an organization working to protect journalists in the country.

The weaponization of military courts and disruption of the justice system

President Tshisekedi’s decision to order military courts to prosecute criminal cases against civilians, has drastically undermined the right to a fair trial. Military courts did not have the capacity to deal with such a significant increase in the number of cases coming to them. This has led to a drastic increase of the number of people in provisional detention waiting for their day in court and further deterioration of prison conditions. Military courts prosecuting and judging civilians is also contrary to international law.

Dozens of human rights activists have been arbitrarily detained on trumped-up charges, including 12 LUCHA activists arrested in Beni in November 2021, and all of whom were sentenced to one year in prison by a military court in April this year for “provocation to disobey the laws.”

The activists had staged a peaceful protest that called for an assessment of the State of Siege, which they said had failed to improve security for civilians. At least eight of the activists have suffered from sickness in prison due to poor detention conditions and ill-treatment.

The DRC authorities must immediately release all those who have been arbitrarily detained

Deprose Muchena

“The increasing use of military courts has severely undermined fair trial rights,” said Deprose Muchena.

“The DRC authorities must immediately release all those who have been arbitrarily detained. It is shocking that the people of North Kivu and Ituri fear not only deadly attacks by armed groups, but also being prosecuted for speaking out to demand effective protection and accountability for these crimes.”

Background

North Kivu and Ituri represent two of the five provinces that make up eastern DRC. Eastern DRC (including North Kivu and Ituri) is rich in natural resources including gold, Coltan, tin, wolframite, tungsten, oil, timber. The region has suffered from armed conflict since the 1990s. The violence has intensified in recent years, with more than 7,380 civilians killed between 2017 and April 2022, according to the Kivu Security Tracker.

On 3 May 2021, the President adopted a decree introducing a state of siege under the guise of protecting civilians. Under the state of siege, all local authorities and ordinary courts have been replaced by military and police officers, and given powers to restrict freedoms of expression, peaceful association, assembly and movement to the extent they deem them necessary. 

The State of Siege was initially for a period of 30 days, with the possibility for the parliament to extend it for periods of two weeks at the request of the government. However, it has since been extended 22 times and is still in force until today.

Amnesty International has conducted 44 interviews with victims of abuses, lawyers, human rights activists and local MPs between August 2021 and April 2022 for this briefing. The organization also analyzed official documents and reports.

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The Saudi Arabian authorities are using arbitrary travel bans as a tool to punish and control activists, writers and journalists by locking them inside the country, or, in the case of those living abroad, by preventing their families from travelling overseas, Amnesty International said today as it launches a new campaign.

The campaign, ‘#LetThemFly’, documents the cases of 30 Saudi Arabian human rights defenders who were sentenced to prison following grossly unfair trials, with travel bans coming into force as soon as they complete their sentences. It further documents 39 cases of relatives of activists who found themselves – by no official order or other forms of notification – also under travel bans, effectively forcibly separating families.

“The Saudi Arabian authorities’ arbitrary use of travel bans against activists and human rights defenders reflects a bleak reality in the country, where dissenting voices continue to be ruthlessly silenced while leaders speak of progressive reform,” said Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“The activists who dared express any form of criticism or opinion not to the liking of the country’s leadership have become victims of unlawful and punitive travel bans that effectively curtail their freedom of movement, impacting major decisions in their lives. The Saudi Arabian authorities must lift all arbitrary travel bans, stop this vindictive practice and start respecting the rights to freedom of expression and movement.”

Cruelly restricted lives

Amnesty International spoke with eight Saudi activists who were either placed under arbitrary travel bans themselves or have had family members banned from traveling living inside Saudi Arabia. Those living overseas said they have struggled emotionally as they are unable to see their families or visit their home country. They fear they will be arbitrarily arrested and detained if they return to Saudi Arabia.

On 11 March 2022, Raif Badawi, a Saudi Arabian blogger and activist, was released after completing a 10-year prison sentence. But unless his travel ban is lifted, he will not be able to see his wife and children for another 10 years. This sentence followed a grossly unfair trial, based on charges stemming solely from him establishing an online debate forum, for which he was accused of insulting Islam. Raif Badawi was also sentenced to a punishment of 1,000 lashes, the first 50 of which were meted out in a public square in Jeddah on 9 January 2015, in violation of the prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment.

Abdulrahman al-Sadhan, who worked with the International Red Crescent humanitarian network in Riyadh, was arrested on 12 March 2018 and then held incommunicado and forcibly disappeared for two years for running a satirical Twitter account. On 5 April 2020, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison followed by a 20-year travel ban simply for exercising his right to freedom of expression. He remains in detention today, deprived of proper medical care and regular contact with his family.

“They are tearing families apart”

Abdulrahman al-Sadhan’s sister, Areej Al-Sadhan, who lives in the United States, told Amnesty International that travel bans deprive people of the chance to live a normal life as they disrupt people’s professional and social lives. She added that being forcibly separated from one’s family inflicts a grave psychological and emotional toll.

“They are tearing families apart. This is unjust, illegal and inhumane,” said Areej Al-Sadhan. “With a travel ban, Saudi Arabia becomes the prison, a place of punishment, a place that restricts people’s freedom and alienates citizens from their home country.”

Background

For years, Saudi Arabia has been using travel bans to suppress critical, dissenting voices both inside and outside of the country.

In the Ritz Carlton purge of November 2017, the authorities imposed travel bans on approximately 300 individuals, including members of the Saudi royal family.

In October 2021, The Freedom Initiative, a U.S.-based human rights organization that campaigns for the release of prisoners wrongfully detained in the Middle East and North Africa, issued a report documenting at least 89 “U.S. persons” (American citizens or permanent, legal residents) who had been detained or placed under a travel ban in Saudi Arabia.

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As the people in Sri Lanka are facing a catastrophic economic crisis, the government must protect the human rights of everyone and ensure an enabling environment for peacefully expressing dissent, Amnesty International said in a report released today.

In the report, ‘From Bad to Worse: Rights Under Attack During Sri Lanka’s Economic Crisis’, the organization also called for the international community to support Sri Lanka in its recovery in line with obligations around international cooperation and assistance, with a particular focus on marginalized groups who are at grave risk.

“The crisis in Sri Lanka is a prime example of the interdependence and interrelatedness of economic and social rights and civil political rights. As such, human rights must be at the heart of discussions on Sri Lanka’s economic future,” said Yamini Mishra, South Asia Regional Director for Amnesty International.

Human rights must be at the heart of discussions on
Sri Lanka’s economic future.

Yamini Mishra, South Asia Regional Director for Amnesty International

“We urge the international community to step in where possible to support Sri Lanka with necessary financial and technical assistance, such as debt relief and aid, in line with a human rights based assessment of the situation to ensure the economic crisis does not deteriorate into a humanitarian crisis.”

Sri Lanka is facing a balance of payment crisis and a severe foreign exchange shortage compounded by Covid-19 lockdowns, pre-pandemic tax cuts and loss of access to international capital markets. As it stands, foreign exchange reserves are critically low, making the import of essential medicines, food items, cooking gas and fuel, immensely difficult. This is affecting all major sectors including education, health and livelihoods.

At least five individuals have died while standing in line for essentials and to date, a total of 75 individuals have reached Tamil Nadu in India seeking economic refuge. Thousands of people in Sri Lanka have taken to the street in a show of resistance using creative slogans, art, theatre, dance, music and technology. Their demands are for the resignation of the president and the prime minister, but also include calls for accountability for wide-ranging human rights violations, inter- ethnic, religious unity and harmony. According to the information collected by Amnesty International, the protests have been largely peaceful; however, in several instances, the Sri Lankan authorities have unlawfully restricted their right to freedom of peaceful assembly including the use of force, tear gas and arbitrary detentions.

The authorities must uphold human rights to freedom of movement, liberty and security of person. Also, Sri Lanka has ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and has an obligation both individually and through international assistance and cooperation, to guarantee economic and social rights. These rights include the rights to health, education, social security, adequate food, and an adequate standard of living.

In February this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommended that “social safety nets should be strengthened, by increasing spending, widening coverage, and improving targeting, to mitigate the adverse impacts of macroeconomic adjustment on vulnerable groups,” however to date, the only proposals approved by the Sri Lankan cabinet have been to provide ad-hoc handouts for a period of three months for low-income families. The government must urgently fund and expand social security systems and ensure that all people, including marginalised groups, are protected from the impacts of the crisis.

Amnesty International has observed that austerity measures introduced previously in several other countries in the context of economic crises have seriously impacted economic and social rights protections. In Greece and Spain, for example, austerity measures made healthcare less accessible and affordable, which had a disproportionate impact on those with lower incomes, and particularly on the elderly, those needing mental health care and treatment, those with disabilities, and with chronic health conditions.

Austerity measures must not disproportionately impact the marginalized groups and must be strictly temporary.

Yamini Mishra, South Asia Regional Director for Amnesty International

“Lessons must be learnt from similar experiences from across the world to avoid serious repercussions,” said Yamini Mishra.  “Any austerity measures introduced in Sri Lanka must be based on a human rights assessment, should be open for public scrutiny and feedback in an inclusive and participatory process, and all alternatives must be explored before they are introduced. Austerity measures must not disproportionately impact the marginalized groups and must be strictly temporary.”

NOTE FOR EDITORS: The complete set of recommendations to the Government of Sri Lanka and the international Community from Amnesty International can be found in the research briefing here.

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Russian forces must face justice for a series of war crimes committed in the region northwest of Kyiv, Amnesty International said today in a new briefing following an extensive on-the-ground investigation.

The briefing, ‘He’s Not Coming Back’: War Crimes in Northwest Areas of Kyiv Oblast, is based on dozens of interviews and extensive review of material evidence. Amnesty International documented unlawful air strikes on Borodyanka, and extrajudicial executions in other towns and villages including Bucha, Andriivka, Zdvyzhivka and Vorzel.

An Amnesty International delegation, led by the organization’s Secretary General, has been visiting the region in recent days, speaking with survivors and families of victims, and meeting with senior Ukrainian officials.

“The pattern of crimes committed by Russian forces that we have documented includes both unlawful attacks and wilful killings of civilians,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

“We have met families whose loved ones were killed in horrific attacks, and whose lives have changed forever because of the Russian invasion. We support their demands for justice, and call on the Ukrainian authorities, the International Criminal Court and others to ensure evidence is preserved that could support future war crime prosecutions.

“It is vital that all those responsible, including up the chain of command, are brought to justice.”

In Borodyanka, Amnesty International found that at least 40 civilians were killed in disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks, which devastated an entire neighbourhood and left thousands of people homeless.

In Bucha and several other towns and villages located northwest of Kyiv, Amnesty International documented 22 cases of unlawful killings by Russian forces, most of which were apparent extrajudicial executions.

During 12 days of investigations, Amnesty International researchers interviewed residents of Bucha, Borodyanka, Novyi Korohod, Andriivka, Zdvyzhivka, Vorzel, Makariv and Dmytrivka, and visited sites of numerous killings.

In total, they interviewed 45 people who witnessed or had first-hand knowledge of unlawful killings of their relatives and neighbours by Russian soldiers, and 39 others who witnessed or had first-hand knowledge of the air strikes that targeted eight residential buildings.

© Amnesty International

It is vital that all those responsible, including up the chain of command, are brought to justice.

Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General

VIEW THE EVIDENCE IN 360 DEGREES

Find out more about the attacks on apartment buildings in Borodyanka and see the evidence for yourself.

ENTER

©Amnesty International

Unlawful air strikes in Borodyanka

On 1 and 2 March, a series of Russian air strikes hit eight residential buildings in the town of Borodyanka, approximately 60 kilometres northwest of Kyiv, which were home to more than 600 families.

The strikes killed at least 40 residents and destroyed the buildings, as well as dozens of surrounding buildings and houses. Most of the victims were killed in the buildings’ basements, where they had sought shelter. Others died in their apartments.

On the morning of 2 March, a single strike killed at least 23 people in Building 359 on Tsentralna Street. The victims included five of Vadim Zahrebelny’s relatives: his mother Lydia, his brother Volodymyr and wife Yulia, and her parents Lubov and Leonid Hurbanov.

Vadim told Amnesty International: “We [Vadim and his son] left Building 359 just after 7am. However, my mother and my brother and his wife and her parents insisted on staying in the basement because they were afraid of getting shot by Russian soldiers if they went out on the streets. About 20 minutes after we left, Building 359 was bombed and they were all killed, together with other neighbours.”

Vasyl Yaroshenko was close to one of the buildings when it was hit. He said: “I left my apartment to go do some work in the garage, as my wife was about to take a couple of older neighbours down to the basement. When I reached the garage, about 150 metres from the building, there was a huge explosion. I ducked behind the garage. When I looked, I saw a large gap in the building. The whole middle section of the building had collapsed – exactly where residents were sheltering in the basement. My wife Halina was among those killed. I still see her by the door of our apartment, the home where we lived for 40 years.”

On 1 March, a series of air strikes targeted six other buildings nearby. At least seven people were killed in Building 371 on Tsentralna Street, including Vitali Smishchuk, a 39-year-old surgeon, his wife Tetiana, and their four-year-old daughter Yeva.

Vitali’s mother Ludmila told Amnesty International: “As the situation deteriorated, it became too dangerous to move from one part of the town to another. There were tanks on the streets… People were frightened to be outside.

“I was speaking to my son and telling him to leave, but he was worried about going outside. They sheltered in the basement for safety – but the bomb destroyed the middle section of the building, where the basement was.”

No fixed Ukrainian military targets are known to have been located at or around any of the buildings which were struck, though at times armed individuals supporting Ukrainian forces reportedly fired on passing Russian military vehicles from or near some of those buildings. Knowingly launching direct attacks on civilian objects or disproportionate attacks constitute war crimes.

Amnesty International has created a new interactive 360-degree representation of the extensive damage caused by the air strikes in Borodyanka, which can be viewed here.

©Amnesty International

The whole middle section of the building had collapsed – exactly where residents were sheltering in the basement. My wife Halina was among those killed. I still see her by the door of our apartment, the home where we lived for 40 years.

Vasyl Yaroshenko

Unlawful killings northwest of Kyiv 

The town of Bucha, approximately 30 kilometres northwest of Kyiv, was occupied by Russian forces in late February. Five men were killed in apparent extrajudicial executions by Russian forces in a compound of five buildings set around a courtyard close to the intersection of Yablunska and Vodoprovidna streets, all between 4 and 19 March.

Yevhen Petrashenko, a 43-year-old sales manager and father-of-two, was shot dead in his apartment on Yablunska Street on 4 March.

Yevhen’s wife Tatiana told Amnesty International that she was in their building’s basement, while Yevhen had remained in their apartment. He had gone to help a neighbour when Russian soldiers were conducting door-to-door searches. Tatiana lost contact with Yevhen, whose body was then found in his apartment by a neighbour the next day.

At her request, Russian soldiers allowed Tatiana to visit the apartment. She said: “Yevhen was lying dead in the kitchen. He had been shot in the back, [near his] lungs and liver. His body remained in the apartment until 10 March, when we were able to bury him in a shallow grave in the courtyard.”

Amnesty International researchers found two bullets and three cartridge cases at the scene of the killing. The organization’s weapons investigator identified the bullets as black-tipped 7N12 armour-piercing 9x39mm rounds that can only be fired by specialized rifles used by some elite Russian units, including units reported to have been operating in Bucha during this time.

A collection of Russian military papers recovered in Bucha, which Amnesty International researchers analysed, gives further indications as to the units involved. They included conscription and training records belonging to a driver-mechanic of the 104th Regiment of the VDV, the Russian Airborne Forces. Notably, some VDV units are equipped with specialized rifles that fire the armour-piercing 9x39mm round.

On 22 or 23 March, Leonid Bodnarchuk, a 44-year-old construction worker who lived in the same building as Yevhen Petrashenko, was also killed. Residents who were sheltering in the basement told Amnesty International that Russian soldiers shot Leonid as he was walking up the stairs, then threw a grenade into the stairwell. They later found his maimed body slumped in a pool of blood on the stairs.

Amnesty International researchers found large blood stains over several steps on the stairs leading to the basement, as well as burn marks and a pattern of damage on the wall consistent with a grenade explosion.

In neighbouring towns and villages, Amnesty International collected further evidence and testimony of unlawful killings, including apparent extrajudicial executions: some victims had their hands tied behind their back, while others showed signs of being tortured.

In the village of Novyi Korohod, Viktor Klokun, a 46-year-old construction worker, was killed. Olena Sakhno, his partner, told Amnesty International that some villagers brought her Viktor’s body on 6 March. She said: “His hands were tied behind his back with a piece of white plastic, and he had been shot in the head.”

Oleksii Sychevky’s wife Olha, 32, and father Olexandr, 62, were killed when the car convoy they were travelling in was fired upon by what they believed were Russian forces.

Oleksii told Amnesty International: “The convoy was all fleeing civilians. Almost all of the cars had kids inside. When our car had just reached a line of trees, I heard shots – first single shots, then a burst of gunfire.

“The shots hit the first vehicle in the convoy, and it stopped. We were the second vehicle and we had to stop, too. Then we were hit. At least six or seven shots hit our car. My dad was killed instantly by a bullet to the head. My wife was hit by metal shrapnel, and my kid [son] was also hit.”

Amnesty International researchers who visited Bucha, Borodyanka and other nearby towns and villages in April, after victims had been exhumed (either from the rubble of collapsed buildings, or from the shallow, temporary graves in which many had been buried), found that many family members were unhappy with treatment of victims’ remains. Family members were concerned that the processing of remains was chaotic, that they were not kept properly informed, and that remains in some cases were not being correctly identified.

©Amnesty International

The convoy was all fleeing civilians. Almost all of the cars had kids inside. When our car had just reached a line of trees, I heard shots – first single shots, then a burst of gunfire.

Oleksii Sychevky

©Amnesty International

Pursuing justice for war crimes

Extrajudicial executions committed in international armed conflicts constitute wilful killings, which are war crimes. Indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks carried out with criminal intent are also war crimes.

All those responsible for war crimes should be held criminally responsible for their actions. Under the doctrine of command responsibility, hierarchal superiors – including commanders and civilian leaders, such as ministers and heads of state – who knew or had reason to know about war crimes committed by their forces, but did not attempt to stop them or punish those responsible, should also be held criminally responsible.

Any justice processes or mechanisms should be as comprehensive as possible, and ensure that all perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and the crime of aggression in Ukraine, from all parties to the conflict, are brought to justice in fair trials, without recourse to the death penalty. In addition, the rights of victims must be at the forefront of investigating and prosecuting international crimes, and all justice mechanisms should adopt a survivor-centred approach.

Amnesty International’s documentation of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed during the war in Ukraine is available here.

STOP THE AGGRESSION AND PROTECT CIVILIANS IN UKRAINE

Right now, people in Ukraine are facing a catastrophic human rights crisis. People are dying, including children, and many thousands of lives are at risk. Take action to demand that the Russian authorities stop this act of aggression and protect civilians now.

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Allow those Barred from Leaving to Return to Canada

(Beirut, May 6, 2022) – Algerian authorities have imposed arbitrary travel bans on at least three activists from the Algerian diaspora, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today. Although one of the three was finally permitted to leave on 5 May 2022 after being blocked for three months, the authorities should immediately lift the bans on the other two.

Between January and April, the authorities prevented at least three Algerian-Canadian citizens, only one of whom has been charged, from returning to their homes in Canada and interrogated them about their links to the Hirak, a mass protest movement calling for political change. Lazhar Zouaimia, Hadjira Belkacem, and a third person, who asked not to be named for security reasons, said that they had not been notified of any legal basis for the travel restrictions, making them difficult to challenge in court. The travel bans are the latest tactic in a crackdown on Algerians suspected of criticizing the government or participating in protests.

“It is appalling that the Algerian authorities are preventing activists from going back to their country of residence, without even providing a legal basis for this refusal or a written justification,” said Amna Guellali, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Amnesty International. “All arbitrary travel bans should immediately be lifted.”

On February 19 and again on April 9, border police prevented Lazhar Zouaimia, 56, a member of Amnesty International in Canada who works as a technician at a public electricity utility in Quebec, from boarding a plane to Montreal.

In his April attempt at Houari Boumediene Airport in Algiers, Zouaimia was accompanied by two representatives from the Canadian embassy and his lawyer. An Algerian law enforcement officer took Zouaimia aside and kept him in an office at the airport for hours, then released him. The authorities also blocked Zouaimia from boarding another flight the same day to Barcelona.

After Zouamia’s earlier attempt to leave Algeria in February, a court initially charged him with terrorism and later changed the charge to “harming the integrity of the national territory,” a vague accusation that authorities have used extensively to punish peaceful Hirak activists. He spent five weeks in detention before a court provisionally released him pending his trial.

One of Zouaimia’s lawyers, Abdel Halim Khairedine, said that a clerk at the Court of Constantine, where Zouaimia is being prosecuted, informed Khairedine that the court had imposed no travel restrictions on his client. 

The notification of release for Zouaimia from the General Directorate of the Administration of Prisons and Rehabilitation, reviewed by Amnesty International, does not indicate that he is subjected to a court-ordered travel ban.

Another of Zouaimia’s lawyers filed a request with the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Court of Algiers on April 13 to check whether another court had imposed a travel ban on him but had received no reply as of April 29.

When Zouaimia tried to leave in February, law enforcement officers in civilian clothes detained him at Constantine airport. An officer from the judicial police at the airport told Zouaimia to hand over his phone, without showing him an order from the prosecutor. Zouaimia gave the officer his phone, which was not password protected.

Police then transferred Zouaimia to the military barracks in Constantine. They questioned him about his participation in Montreal in the Hirak protest movement and his alleged connections with the Movement for the Self-determination of Kabylie (MAK) and Rachad, an opposition political movement. The authorities have used broadly worded terrorism-related charges to criminalize the activities of these two political organizations by designating them “terrorists.”

On February 22, a judge in the Court of Constantine ordered Zouaimia’s pre-trial detention on charges of praising and funding a terrorist organization, under article 87 bis of the Penal Code. Zouaimia was provisionally released on March 30. On April 6, a judge in the same court changed the accusation to “harming the integrity of the national territory” under article 79 of the Penal Code. His trial is scheduled for May 31. The authorities have not returned his phone.

Zouaimia was finally able to leave Algeria to return to Canada on May 5.

In another case, Hadjira Belkacem, 52, traveled to Algeria on January 19. On February 25, the border police at the Houari Boumediene Airport prevented her from leaving the country for Montreal. Belkacem told Human Rights Watch that she has not taken part in the Hirak but is known as an activist among Algerians living in Montreal. Law enforcement officers in civilian clothes at the airport interrogated her and held her for several hours.

Belkacem was then transferred to the headquarters of the National Police in Algiers to be questioned again. Police officers there asked about her alleged connections to the Hirak protest movement and to Rachad, and about the Association of Muslim Burial in Quebec (l’Association de la Sépulture musulmane au Québec), a charity that she founded in Canada. They released her at 2:30 am the following morning, she told Human Rights Watch.

Belkacem hired a lawyer, who found no charges pending against her. He contacted the prosecutor of the Dar Beida court in Algiers to ask about the travel ban, but has not received an answer, she said on May 3.

Belkacem has been living in Canada with her family for 16 years and works as a childcare educator.

On February 10, border police at the Algiers airport prevented a third person, who asked not to be identified, from boarding a plane. He was transferred to a police station in Algiers, where he was interrogated in the office of the counterterrorism unit about his family, his personal relationships, and if he had collected money to support the Hirak. The police then released him without telling him that there were any charges against him.

On March 24, in response to a request filed by his lawyer, the first instance tribunal of the eastern city of Setif issued a notice, reviewed by Amnesty International, confirming that no formal ban to leave the national territory had been issued against him. He is awaiting more information from his lawyer before he attempts to leave the country again.   

Law enforcement officers in civilian clothes had previously arrested him on January 28 with his brother on a street in Setif. The officers took the men to an unknown location, where security service officers interrogated him for a few hours about the Hirak, his personal finances, and the reasons he was protesting for political change in Algeria. The two men were released later that day, but he was summoned for questioning to the central police station of Setif again on January 29 and 30. 

“The Algerian authorities are using arbitrary travel bans as a means to pressure diaspora activists in Canada and elsewhere,” said Eric Goldstein, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “These unjustified measures put diaspora Algerians who go home to visit in a precarious situation with no clear legal remedies.”

For more information, please contact:

For Human Rights Watch, in North Africa, Eric Goldstein (English, French): +1-917-519-4736 (mobile); or goldstr@hrw.org. Twitter: @goldsteinricky  
For Amnesty International, in North Africa, Amna Guellali (English, French, Arabic): +216-53-033-079 (mobile/WhatsApp/Signal); or amna.guellali@amnesty.org. Twitter @aguellaa

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