French anti-terror probe investigate Algerian dissident’s case
French anti-terror investigators suspect criminal networks were recruited to carry out a failed assassination plot against Algerian journalist and opposition figure Hichem Aboud, according to details published by Le Monde from an ongoing judicial investigation that has heightened scrutiny of Algerian interference and banditry on French soil, as reported by North Africa Post on July 2nd.
The investigation stems from an operation that targeted Aboud in the northern French city of Roubaix, which took place in February 2025. Four suspects were placed under formal investigation this May on charges that included attempted murder linked to a terrorist enterprise and participation in a terrorist criminal conspiracy, according to French judicial authorities.
According to Le Monde, investigators uncovered the alleged plot while examining encrypted messages found from a separate investigation in 2024 covering an eastern France museum robbery.
Messages recovered from a suspect’s phone referred to a paid mission to kill an Algerian opposition figure, who was later identified as Aboud. The case was subsequently taken over by France’s National Anti Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT). French judicial documents cited by the paper describe what the authorities suspect are “criminal networks activated in the service of a foreign power.”
Aboud, a former Algerian intelligence officer turned journalist and longtime critic of the Algerian government, has said he has been repeatedly targeted in Europe. French investigators say an armed team traveled to Roubaix with instructions to locate and kill Aboud, however the operation failed when the intended target was not present.
The case follows another high-profile French investigation involving Algerian dissident Amir Boukhors, who is known online as Amir DZ. French anti-terror prosecutors have charged several individuals, including an Algerian consular employee, over the 2024 abduction of Amir DZ near Paris. A French judge later issued an international arrest warrant for a former Algerian diplomat suspected of involvement in the case. Authorities have pursued the matter under anti-terrorism provisions, including charges linked to terrorist conspiracy and kidnapping.
North Africa Post, Maghrebi.org.
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