Algeria: Incommunicado detention/ fear of torture or ill-treatment: Fethi Hamaddouche

[Al-khiyal]

Amnesty International

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 28/011/2007

25 May 2007

UA 124/07 Incommunicado detention/ fear of torture or ill-treatment

ALGERIA: Fethi Hamaddouche (m), aged 24 or 25

The whereabouts of Fethi Hamaddouche, who was last seen by his brother on 5 March in the custody of the Department for Information and Security (Département du renseignement et de la sécurité, DRS), are unknown. Amnesty International fears that he is held incommunicado by the DRS and that he is at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.

In Algeria, suspects may be held without charge for a maximum of 12 days, under Article 51 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The arresting authorities must immediately give them the opportunity to communicate with their families and to receive visits from them.

Fethi Hamaddouche did not come back home after going out on the evening of 2 March in Mostaganem, a town west of the capital, Algiers. On 5 March, armed DRS agents came to his family house. They then took Fethi’s brother, Samir Hamaddouche, to their barracks in Mostaganem, in an area called "le Plateau". Samir was held at the barracks all day and reportedly beaten, apparently because he had asked the DRS agents if they had any authorization to search the house or an arrest warrant. DRS agents then brought Samir face-to-face with his brother Fethi, who was handcuffed and had a swollen face. DRS agents asked Samir Hamaddouche to confirm his brother’s identity and questioned him about his friends and relatives. Fethi was reportedly coerced by DRS agents into telling his brother that he was "part of them", possibly in reference to an armed group. Samir was released on the evening of 5 March, and has had no further dealings with the DRS.

Since 5 March, Fethi Hamaddouche’s family has not been permitted to see him and has received no official news of his whereabouts. They reportedly received an anonymous telephone call about two months after Fethi’s arrest, alleging that Fethi Hamaddouche had been transferred to the Hydra district in Algiers, the location of the Antar military barracks, part of which is used as an unrecognized detention centre. There is no information of any charges against Fethi Hamaddouche and it is not known whether he has had any access to legal representatives or medical aid.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Algerian authorities have been engaged in counter-terrorism measures for over a decade, in the context of the internal armed conflict in the country during the 1990s, and subsequently as part of the global "war on terror". On 11 April 2007, bomb attacks in Algiers killed some 33 people and injured over 160. Amnesty International recognises the right and duty of states to protect the lives of persons by taking steps to prevent terrorist acts, but underlines that governments must do so in accordance with their human rights obligations.

Algerian law is routinely violated in cases of people suspected of "terrorism" who are arrested or detained by the DRS. Before they are either brought before the judicial authorities or released without charge, those arrested are systematically held incommunicado for up to 12 days, and sometimes longer. It is while they are in secret detention in barracks operated by the DRS that detainees are most at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. Amnesty International has received information on several cases where detainees were held by the DRS for months without contact with the outside world in violation of Algerian and international law, during which time they were reportedly subjected to torture and other ill-treatment. Algeria’s civilian authorities do not exercise effective control over the activities of the DRS.

Algeria: Incommunicado detention/ fear of torture or ill-treatment: Fethi Hamaddouche

[Al-khiyal]

Amnesty International

Algeria: Further information on Incommunicado detention/ fear of torture or ill-treatment:

Fethi Hamaddouche (m)

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 28/019/2007
13 November 2007

Further information on UA 124/07 (MDE 28/011/2007, 25 May 2007) Incommunicado detention/ fear of torture or ill-treatment

ALGERIA Fethi Hamaddouche (m), aged 24 or 25

Fethi Hamaddouche was released on 12 October on the eve of the Eid ul-Fitr feast, which follows the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Fethi Hamaddouche's brother has confirmed that he was released without charge and is in good health. Prior to his release, he was last seen by his brother Samir on 5 March when he was in held in the custody of the Department for Information and Security (Département du renseignement et de la sécurité, DRS), at an army barracks in his home town of Mostaganem, west of Algiers. At that time, his brother noticed that Fethi Hamaddouche's face was swollen. Fethi Hamaddouche had been held without any contact with the outside world since 5 March 2007.

It appears that Fethi Hamaddouche was probably detained in an unknown location in the capital, Algiers, as well as in the city of Chlef. Those detained by the DRS are often unaware of where they are being held and not informed of their place of detention. After his release he returned to Mostaganem.

It is not known whether Fethi Hamaddouche was tortured or ill-treated in incommunicado detention. He does not wish to speak about his time in detention.

In Amnesty International’s experience, people who have been held by the DRS are often afraid to talk about their treatment in detention, in case this exposes them to possible retribution.

Samir Hamaddouche has thanked Amnesty International for its efforts to bring Fethi back home.

No further action is requested from the UA network. Many thanks to all who sent appeals.

Algeria: Further information on incommunicado detention/ fear of torture or ill-treatment: Fethi Hamaddouche