Algeria: Karim Tabbou released, under judicial supervision

Algerian political opponent and figure of the Hirak pro-democracy movement, Karim Tabbou, was released but placed under judicial supervision on Thursday after being held for 48 hours, local media reported.

Karim Tabbou was placed under judicial supervision after his hearing by an investigating judge at the Koléa court (west of Algiers), the information site Tariq News said.

Karim Tabbou was arrested Tuesday evening at his home in Algiers and placed in police custody, in Dely Brahim, a district in the heights of the capital, according to his brother Djaffar.

The latter had indicated on social networks, quoting lawyer Toufik Belala, that his brother "was (was) arrested in Dely Brahim by plainclothes police", stressing that the exact nature of the charges against his brother does not had not been specified.

Leader of an opposition party not approved by the authorities, the Democratic and Social Union (UDS), Karim Tabbou, 48, is one of the most popular faces of Hirak, marked by major demonstrations in February 2019 until early 2020.

Mr. Tabbou had been sentenced in March 2020 and served a one-year prison sentence for "undermining national security", due to a video on his party's Facebook account where he criticized the interference of the government. army in political affairs.

According to the CNLD (National Committee for the Liberation of Detainees), dozens of people, in connection with the Hirak or the defense of individual freedoms, are still imprisoned in Algeria.