Algeria – France relations threatened following diplomatic indictment
Algeria has reacted furiously following an indictment of a diplomat by a court in France.
As reported by The New Arab on April 13th, an Algerian consular official was arrested along with two other men in April 2024 on suspicion of being involved in the abduction of an Algerian influencer living in a Parisian suburb.
The influencer was 41 year old Amir Boukhors known as “Amir DZ”, an opponent of the Algerian government who has amassed over one million followers on TikTok.
According to France’s National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office, the three men involved in the abduction were indicted by on the charges of abduction, arbitrary detention and illegal confinement.
The indictment of the diplomat follows a period of normalisation between France and Algeria after months of diplomatic tension between the two nations.
Algeria has confimed that their foreign ministry has held talks with French Ambassador Stephane Romatet in order to “express its strong protest”.
They have claimed that the basis for the arrest of the diplomat is a “far-fetched argument” that is based “on the sole fact that the accused consular officer;s mobile phone was allegedly located around the home (of Boukhors).”
Boukhours himself is the subject of international arrest warrants issued by the Algerian government who have accused him of fraud and terror offences.
As France and Algeria had hoped to stabilise relations after a tumultuous period of tension caused by France’s support for Moroccan autonomy over the Western Sahara, this latest incident will be of concern for those hoping for a resolution.
Issues surrounding immigration and the arrest of French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal by the Algerian government have also caused contention.
The Algerian foreign ministry has claimed the timing of the indictment is “no coincidence” and is “aimed at torpedoing the process of reviving bilateral relations” that had been agreed by French President Emmanuel Macro and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
The New Arab, Maghrebi
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