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Algeria
Criminal Justice System
Ordinary criminal cases are heard in the regular civil court
system by judges appointed by the Ministry of Justice through
an independent board. Criminal cases are heard in forty-eight
provincial courts, which have jurisdiction over more serious crimes
as well as appellate jurisdiction over lower courts in local tribunals
(tribunaux), which have original jurisdiction for less
serious offenses. According to the United States Department of
State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for
1992, the judiciary is generally independent of executive or military
control, except in cases involving security or public order. During
the period of martial law in 1991 and the state of emergency in
1992, this independence was largely circumvented.
In December 1992, special antiterrorist courts with civilian
judges were established to try crimes specifically relating to
terrorism. According to the Department of State, these courts
are believed to have been formed so that the government might
have greater influence over the outcome of security-related criminal
cases. A State Security Court, which had previously tried cases
involving endangerment of national security, had been abolished
in 1989 as part of Benjedid's political reform program. Muslim
sharia law predominated in local courts but there were no Islamic
courts as such. Military courts dealt with offenses by military
personnel and all types of espionage cases. During the 1991 state
of emergency, about 700 persons were tried in military courts
whose jurisdictions had been widened to include acts endangering
national security. The trials of seven FIS leaders in 1992 were
among those heard by military courts. Some of the rights normally
accorded in civil courts were ignored or circumscribed in the
military courts.
Defendants in civil courts usually have full access to counsel
who can function freely without governmental interference. The
Algerian Bar Association provides pro bono legal services
to defendants unable to pay for their own lawyer. In connection
with criminal investigations, detention for questioning normally
cannot exceed forty-eight hours, but an antiterrorist law issued
in 1992 permits prearraignment detentions of up to twelve days.
Detainees must be informed immediately of the nature of charges
against them. Once charged, a person can be held under pretrial
detention indefinitely while the case is being investigated. No
bail system exists, but provisional liberty may be granted if
the detainee can demonstrate availability at all stages of the
inquiry. Lawyers are entitled to have access to their clients
at all times under visual supervision of a guard. Defendants have
the right to confront witnesses and present evidence. Trials are
public, and defendants have the right of appeal.
Prior to the civil unrest of 1991 and 1992, the government had
introduced political reforms that liberalized the justice system
with respect to actions deemed to threaten internal security.
Previously, citizens could be arrested for expressing views critical
of or different from those of the government, for disturbing the
public order, for associating with illegal organizations, or,
in extreme cases, for threatening state security. The new constitution
of 1989 provides the right to form political parties and civic
associations and to strike, and strengthens the right of freedom
of expression and opinion. Nevertheless, under legislation introduced
in 1990, persons convicted of publishing information endangering
state security or national unity can be sentenced for a term of
up to ten years. Criticizing Islam or another revealed religion
can bring a penalty of up to three years' imprisonment.
According to Amnesty International, more than 100 persons were
under sentence of death at the close of 1992. At least twenty-six
Islamists were sentenced to death after the banning of the FIS
in 1992, but no executions were actually carried out in 1992.
More than 100 civilians and supporters of Islamic opposition groups
were killed by security forces during 1992, and more than 1,000
people were in detention at the end of 1992 according to government
sources.
The principal leaders of the FIS arrested in 1991--Abbassi Madani
and Ali Benhadj--were tried by a military court in mid1992 for
fomenting rebellion against the state. They could have been given
the death sentence, but government prosecutors asked for life
imprisonment. The court's sentence of twelve years was lighter
than expected. Its leniency was construed as having been dictated
by the government in an effort to ease tensions and improve the
atmosphere for possible reconciliation with more moderate Islamic
factions.
In 1987, reversing its previous policy, the government officially
recognized a human rights group, the Algerian League of Human
Rights. Legal status was subsequently accorded to the Committee
Against Torture, which investigated allegations of government
torture, as well as to a number of other human rights organizations.
They have been permitted to lobby, publicize their findings, and
publish reports on the treatment of detainees.
Under the 1991 state of emergency and the 1992 martial law decrees
that gave military and security authorities wide latitude to enforce
public order, large numbers of Islamists were detained. The government
acknowledged that it detained 9,000 persons at eight desert camps
without formal charges in 1992. By the end of the year, 1,000
were still held in four remaining camps, despite government plans
to close them down. FIS leaders claimed that the number of those
rounded up by the government had actually reached 30,000.
Data as of December 1993
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