- Heavy security, with roadblocks leading to the courthouse in Blida, south of Algiers, marked Monday’s opening of the trial
ALGIERS: An Algerian military tribunal has opened the high-profile trial of a brother of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and two ex-intelligence chiefs.
Heavy security, with roadblocks leading to the courthouse in Blida, south of Algiers, marked Monday’s opening of the trial of Said Bouteflika, Gen. Athmane Tartag and Gen. Mohamed Mediene — a man whose name once made Algerians tremble.
The three, plus Workers Party leader Louisa Hanoune, a fixture on Algeria’s political scene, are charged with plotting against the state and undermining the army.
The charges center on March meetings of the four that Hanoune’s lawyer, Rachid Khane, said aimed to examine Algeria’s political situation amid protest marches seeking Bouteflika’s resignation.
Some within the administration saw more sinister designs, reportedly including plotting to fire army chief Ahmed Gaid Salah.