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Madrid, Spain – After joining the Algerian Border Patrol in 2013, former military police Mohammed Abdullah began to suspect that something was wrong.
Abdellah is the air supervisor of the Border Patrol helicopter and is therefore responsible for operating surveillance cameras and monitoring border activities between Algeria and Tunisia.
While serving as an air supervisor, Abdellah claimed that with the help of senior officers of the Algerian gendarmerie, he encountered widespread corruption, bribery, fraud, and smuggling of weapons and gasoline across the border.
In the end, Abdullah chose to sound the alarm and report to his superiors what he saw, but his efforts were of no avail.
Today, Abdellah found himself in the Algerian detention center in Kolea. Earlier this year he was suddenly extradited from Spain to seek political asylum there, and he is awaiting military trial.
Abdullah’s case is full of complex, contrasting allegations, and it is in a political atmosphere full of tension.
His wife told Al Jazeera that when raising this issue with his superiors, he had two simple choices: Either turn a blind eye, ignore what he saw, or choose to obey and participate in the corruption between the troops.
Instead, Abdullah turned to anti-corruption activists in Algeria and abroad, hoping for support, and leaked the information and evidence he had collected. A source close to Abdullah told Al Jazeera that he soon began to be threatened and began to worry about the safety of his family.
Abdullah was accused of “undermining public order and national security and stability” [Photo supplied to Al Jazeera]In November 2018, Abdullah fled to Spain with his wife and children, leaving his role in the Algerian National Gendarmerie. He settled in Alicante in eastern Spain and applied for political asylum in March 2019.
During his exile, Abdullah strengthened his activism and became more committed to exposing and condemning the corruption he encountered in the armed forces.He began to oppose the army and the government through his speech YouTube with Facebook It has gained a large audience and has more than 265,000 followers.
The Algerian authorities are not satisfied with this. It is said that the Algerian authorities charged him with military charges in May 2019 for “disclosing national defense secrets…fleeing abroad, insulting the national army, and violating duties and order.” [and] According to documents seen by Al Jazeera, it insulted the President of the Republic.
One year later International arrest warrant issued Abdullah-and three other prominent government critics-on charges of “terrorism”.
The arrest warrant accused Abdullah of “undermining public order and national security and stability” and claimed that he was involved in a plan to use Algerian anti-government forces. Chirac Move and guide it away from its “peaceful character.”
From exile to “political expulsion”
During these years in Spain, Abdullah reported that he was frequently intimidated and threatened by people claiming to be agents of the Algerian government.
In June 2020, he submitted a report to the Spanish police, where he condemned being stalked and threatened, and was told: “You will pay a high price for what you say. We know that you have applied for asylum in Spain, We will make sure you don’t get it,” said the police report seen by Al Jazeera.
On August 3, 2020, he broadcasted Live video on Facebook Broadcast an example of such alleged intimidation. The video has been viewed more than 4 million times.
His wife also said that she had been stalked many times, and people showed up at her children’s school, her Spanish classes and the entrance of their home. She filed a separate police report in August 2020, requesting relocation to protect them.
On August 12 this year, Abdullah was informed that his application for political asylum had been rejected while participating in the renewal of the temporary residence permit. He was detained and quickly transferred to a foreign detention center in Barcelona.
The Spanish police arrest warrant stated that Abdullah “posed a major risk to national security” and claimed that he had been in regular contact with prominent Algerian dissidents and received funding. Mohamed Lalbi Zitu, One of the puppets of Anti-Government Rachard Movement.
On August 21, Abdullah was extradited to Algeria, where he is currently detained-allegedly in solitary confinement in a three-story cell. His family said that the lawyer appointed by his country has withdrawn from the case.
“The Algerian country hopes that through the use of a’terrorism’ card, it can be justified to expel Abdullah and other militants from a’democratic’ country like Spain, because Abdullah may be treated by the authorities after returning home. “To Algeria,” said Yasmina Allouche, an Algerian journalist and political researcher.
‘Very unusual’
Activists also expressed concern about Spain’s handling of Abdullah’s extradition, claiming that he was deprived of the legal protection allowed as a political asylum. In addition, his legal team argued that the handling of the case was suspicious and was affected by extra-legal interests.
“We think Abdullah’s case is clearly a political expulsion,” a representative of the Spanish legal team hired by his family told Al Jazeera.
“Technically speaking, this is not extradition, but expulsion, which means that it is handled by the administrative department of the law, and it does not have the same legal protection as the criminal department,” said the lawyer who requested anonymity.
The legal team questioned the Spanish authorities’ interpretation of international refugee law and emphasized that it did not provide Abdullah with A period of voluntary departure, There was no opportunity to invoke his right of non-return as a political refugee, which his legal representative called “very unusual.”
“Abdullah has no criminal record in Spain, and the police report is vague and very general. It is clear that the deportation was based on what Algeria said,” his legal representative added.
Al Jazeera contacted the Algerian and Spanish authorities for comments, but received no response.
Algerian authoritarianism
Amnesty International also doubts the validity of the Algerian government’s allegations against political activists and members of opposition groups Label them “False terrorism allegations” used to limit dissent.
“Obviously, the Algerian authorities deliberately conceal their mismanagement of state affairs. It is also worrying that as the election approaches, we are entering this environment, in this environment, any opposition, no matter how much they look Peace will be regarded as a breach of public order,” said Zine Ghebouli, an Algerian political analyst.
The Algerian government has been strongly criticized in the past few years for its response to opposition movements such as Hirak and Rachad.The latter is classified As a terrorist organization The government in May of this year.
As Chirac’s momentum escalated, Government suppression On the protesters.This led to the arrest and suppression of hundreds of Chirac members and government critics. The UN Human Rights Office condemn “The deteriorating human rights situation…and the continued and increasing repression of members of the pro-democratic Chirac movement.”
“Protesters, journalists, activists and ordinary citizens have been arbitrarily arrested and unfairly convicted for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of speech,” Hasina Usedik, head of Amnesty International in Algeria, told Al Jazeera.
“This year, the authorities used vague interpretations of the Criminal Code and loosely worded terrorism-related charges to prosecute these people.”
People also questioned the government’s decision to classify Rachad as a terrorist organization.
“I think there is no particular reason to classify them as a terrorist organization, but in Algeria, there is a consensus that anyone connected with the Rachad movement will be arrested and if they are abroad, they will be extradited,” Ghebouli said. .
Internal division
However, the Rachad movement has become More and more divided In the Algerian opposition.
The organization is mainly led by Islamists, and there are concerns about the organization’s links with the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), a political party that was heavily involved in the turbulent situation in Algeria. Black Decade, An estimated 200,000 people died.
“Islamist Rachad is accused of being another version of FIS, possibly violent. Few Algerians have an appetite after the black decade. However, these emotions were manipulated by the regime to discourage dissent,” Alush said.
Nonetheless, Abdullah’s close relationship with the leadership of Rachad provided the government with an excuse for persecuting, extradite and detain him.
“At this point, this is a very vague line. The whole situation is very vague because we cannot access everyone’s complete files. It is difficult to assess whether all arrested persons are truly radicals or terrorists. However, there are also such things. Victims of securitization rhetoric, when it comes to foreign activists, the case of Mohamed Abdellah is an example. He has a close relationship with the Rachad movement, which is why he was extradited to Algeria.” Ghebouli said.
Despite the existence of powerful opposition movements such as Hirak and public dissidents such as Abdellah, the outlook for Algerian opponents of the government remains bleak.
“The Algerian authorities will only change their behavior when they want and are interested in doing so-and so far they have not. So, at least until the elections, we will see the same behavior and the protesters will be thrown into prison. ,” Gheboli said.
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