UN rights experts urged the Court of Algiers on April 28 to stop the trial of Mohamed Tadjadit, noting that the reclassified charges he now faces are punishable by death. A poet and human rights defender, Tadjadit is associated with the Hirak movement, which first arose in 2019 in opposition to then-president Abdelaziz Bouteflika and has since evolved into a wider call for political change and greater freedoms.

Tadjadit was accused of spreading subversive content and undermining public institutions, and was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment in January 2025. Between 2019 and 2024, he was imprisoned multiple times for participating in peaceful protests, and for exercising his right to freedom of expression.

UN experts stated that the new charges appear to be based on the same conduct underlying the earlier offenses for which he was convicted in 2022, raising concerns that the reclassification contravenes the principle of double jeopardy. The experts emphasized that the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, in Opinion No. 45/2022 adopted in October 2022, had already found that his right to a fair trial had been violated and that he and his co-defendants had been punished for exercising their rights to freedom of opinion and expression, contrary to international law. They further stated that the Court in Algiers must annul the unjustified trial scheduled for April 30, and drop all new charges that reclassify the events of 2022 and expose Tadjadit to the death penalty.

Amnesty International also criticized the decision of the Algiers Court of Appeals to uphold his conviction on charges of "glorifying terrorism," "offending public bodies," and "inciting an unarmed gathering," arguing that these charges stem solely from his expression of opinion through social media posts and poetry. Amnesty International called for his immediate and unconditional release and for all charges against him to be dropped on the grounds that they arise solely from the exercise of his human rights.

From JURIST, April 30. Used with permission. Internal links added.