Khalifa Case: Keramane brothers issued explanation statement

Accused in El Khalifa case

Keramane brothers issued explanation statement

El Khabar, 10 january 2007

Mr Abdelouahab Keramane, former governor of the Bank of Algeria, and Mr Abdennour Keramane, former General Manager of Sonelgaz company and ex-Industry Minister, accused in the Khalifa case, released yesterday a press statement in which they said “we have decided not to appear before the court of Blida for we are convinced El Khalifa case is used to convict us for political purposes”.
”The fact that Supreme Court rejected our appeal as regard the charges, and sent back our file to criminal court of Blida does indubitably confirm the plot drawn since 2004 to place the responsibility on Abdelouahab Keramane in El Khalifa affair as a co-conspirator”, said the statement explaining that such a decision by the Supreme Court shows that justice is instrumented by judicial authority. The statement’s co-signatories add that “just after the first hearing in September 2004, justice gave information to the press, which is an obvious violation of one of justice’s principles, namely investigation secrecy… some ministers did not hesitate to confirm this information in order to get Keramane implicated and presented him as the sole guilty person” in the affair.
”We strongly affirm the charges against us are groundless and are the outcome of a lie fabricated by some people, witnesses’ statements and document given to the examining magistrate make us no guilty, though”, Keramane says adding “we responded to the charges during investigations, however the magistrate have not taken into consideration our explanations… the accusation chamber illegally presented final reports… we refused Supreme Court’s silence as to such practices”.
”We have got no loans nor gifts from El Khalifa, and investigations have showed we own no land, no buildings nor factories… our only income is our old-age pensions”, Abdelouhaba Keramane says in the statement pointing out “we are convinced it is not a legal case but a political one in which the blamed have been determined even before investigations started”

2007-01-09
By B. S.