Two Algeria ex-PMs get jail terms in graft case

An Algerian court sentenced two former prime ministers to long jail terms on Tuesday in the first of a series of high-profile corruption trials launched after longtime president Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned in the face of mass protests in April.

The verdicts come just two days before Algeria is due to elect a president to replace Bouteflika in a vote bitterly opposed by the country’s nine-month-old protest movement, which sees it as a regime ploy to cling to power.

Former prime ministers Ahmed Ouyahia and Abdelmalek Sellal, who were both close to the ousted president, were sentenced to 15 years and 12 years respectively.

It was the first time since Algeria’s independence from France in 1962 that former prime ministers have been put on trial.

The state prosecutor had sought 20-year prison sentences for the two ex-premiers.

In all, 19 defendants were tried on charges ranging from money laundering to abuse of office and granting undue privileges in the vehicle assembly industry.

Student demonstrators again surged through Algiers on Tuesday, chanting “We will not vote” and “we want freedom.”

“We will see if a bad election is better than no election,” said political analyst Farid Ferrahi.

The five presidential candidates, approved by the state, are former prime ministers Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Ali Benflis, ex-culture minister Azzedddine Mihoubi, former tourism minister Abdelkader Bengrine, and Abdelaziz Belaid, a party leader.

All are familiar faces regarded by the protesters as part of the old guard that has held power since Algeria won independence from France in 1962.

The nascent Algerian automotive sector got its start in 2014, via partnerships between foreign groups and large Algerian corporations, many of which are owned by businessmen linked to Bouteflika’s entourage.

One former industry minister, Abdeslam Bouchouareb, who is on the run abroad, was sentenced in absentia to 20 years.

Two other former industry ministers, Mahdjoub Bedda and Youcef Yousfi, were handed 10-year terms.

Businessman Ali Haddad, founder and CEO of private construction firm ETRHB and former head of Algeria’s main employers’ organisation, was sentenced to seven years.

Three businessmen who own vehicle assembly plants — Ahmed Mazouz, Hassen Arbaoui and Mohamed Bairi — were sentenced to seven years, six years and three years respectively.

Defence lawyers boycotted the trial, alleging the proceedings were “politicised” and impacted by a climate of “settling scores.”

The high-profile prosecutions have done little to win over the protesters, who have continued to take to the streets since Bouteflika’s resignation, demanding the total dismantling of the military-dominated system that has ruled Algeria since independence. Many fear the trials are little more than a high-level purge in a struggle between still-powerful regime insiders, rather than a genuine effort to reform the state.

The military high command, which has long wielded power from behind the scenes, has now been forced to take a visible, front-line role in government — but has rejected the demands of protesters and civil society for sweeping reforms.

It has paid little attention to popular calls to replace the constitution that served to legitimise Bouteflika’s grip on power.

Instead, the army has pushed for a swift election to pick a replacement for Bouteflika, saying it is the only route to resolving the political crisis.

While no opinion polls have been published, observers expect high levels of abstention, in keeping with previous elections in a political system seen by voters as rigid and unaccountable.

The five candidates in the poll have run low-key campaigns.

All are considered “children of the system,” having either supported Bouteflika or participated in his government — two as ministers and two as prime ministers. Protesters accuse them of protecting the regime by standing for election.

Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaed Salah, is now Algeria’s most powerful figure and sees the election of a new president as the best way to draw a line under a year of tumult and refresh the enduring political order.

Agencies