ALGIERS – Algerian prosecutors have requested a tougher two-year jail sentence for prominent anti-government activist Amira Bouraoui during her trial on appeal, a prisoners’ rights group said Friday.
Bouraoui, a 44-year-old gynaecologist, is a prominent figure in the “Hirak” protest movement that secured the resignation of former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika in April, last year.
She came to prominence in 2014 when she opposed Bouteflika running for a fourth term.
She was sentenced to a one-year jail term in June over a string of charges, including insulting the president and Islam.
Bouraoui was tried on appeal on Thursday night in a court in Tipaza, in the country’s west, the Committee for the Liberation of Detainees (CNLD) prisoners’ rights group said.
Prosecutors are now seeking two years behind bars for the activist, the CNLD said in a statement Friday on its Facebook page.
A verdict is expected on December 31.
The CNLD says over 90 people, including activists, social media users and journalists, are currently in custody in connection with the country's anti-government protest movement or individual liberties – mostly for dissenting social media posts.
Bouraoui was granted provisional release in July, along with several other opposition figures. – AFP, December 26, 2020
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