Algeria: Cyber-activist, Tarek Mameri, sentenced to 8 months in prison and a $10,000 fine

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26 Jun 2012
The cyber-activist, Tarek Mameri, was sentenced this morning by the correctional court of Algiers to a suspended sentence of 8 months imprisonment, a $10,000 fine, and $100,000 in damages and interest for, "insulting a constituent body", "destruction of public goods", "destruction of administrative documents", and "direct incitement to gather a mob."

This emblematic figure of the Algerian youth, who openly expressed on the Internet the frustration and despair of the Algeria youth and called for the boycott of the legislative elections, was abducted on 1 May right in the middle of downtown Algiers by police before being released two days later.

Charged by the Algerian court on 14 June 2012, the prosecutor requested a three year prison sentence and a $20,000 fine. This sentence, which is part of a larger campaign of repression against opponents and human rights activists in Algeria demonstrates, according to Rachid Mesli, Legal Director of Alkarama, "the Algerian authorities' determination to retaliate against any person freely and peacefully expressing his political opinions."
Algeria
Enforced Disappearance
Torture
Arbitrary Detention
Independence of Justice
Freedom of Expression