The Deposition of a Citizen of Alger Harassed by the Police since his Liberation in 1999
Testimony of harassment
The Deposition of a Citizen of Alger Harassed by the Police since his Liberation in 1999
Deposition collected by the ODHA in Algier the 12th June 2005
Observatory of the human rights in Algeria (ODHA)
Translation from french
My name is Hachemi, I’m 65 years old, and I live in Algier. I was liberated in the end of February 1999 after 6 years of arbitrary arrest of “terrorism”. After three years of preventive detention and a parody of processes, I was sentenced to 20 years of prison by the sadly well-known “special court” of Alger. After six years of detention and cassation, I was resentenced to five years of prison.
Since my liberation I was not only deprived of my civilian rights, but I was also harassed by the Mobile Criminal Investigation Brigade (Brigade Mobile de la Police Judiciaire – BMPJ) of Birkhadem.
As a matter of fact, in June 2000, say four months after my liberation, civilian police officers came to my house and convoked me in order to present myself at the 14th BMPJ of Birkhadem. The next day I presented myself to the above-mentioned department. I was questioned for four hours by three policemen. The questioning circled around my private life and the private lives of my children who are all married and family fathers. They questioned me about my possible contacts with liberated former co-prisoners as well. They submitted a record which I signed. Two years later, in 2002, I was again convoked by the same brigade. I was questioned about the same questions as the first time, but they tried to receive more details about my private life and of the private lives of my married children. They also questioned me about certain persons in researched districts. At that time they also forced me to sign a record.
Finally, in the end of May 2005, I received a visit in my house by two civilian policemen who reconvoked me in order to represent myself to the BMPJ of Birkhadem. When I asked them about the motive of the convocation, one of them answered me that it was about the cancellation of the advertisement of loss concerning myself. For I have come to the conclusion, that even though I was arrested, sentenced and liberated, the advertisement of loss of myself was still in order eleven years later although I was occupied by my normal business.
Once again, and during almost four hours, I was questioned by two policemen. One of them recorded all that I said in his computer. The questioning, like the previous times, circled around my private life and the private lives of my children. During the questioning a person, who was the superintendent I came to know later on, entered the office and took over the sayings of one of the policemen. He questioned me about the charges brought towards me in the police record of 1994. I answered him that it was about a completely fabricated scenario after two months of imprisonment and awful torture by the torturers of the commissary of Hussein Dey of that time. The superintendent didn’t react. I also added that there are thousands of police records like mine in Algeria from the bloodstained decade, police records that underlie the arbitrary sentences of many innocent citizens.
At the end of the questioning, I asked this responsible superintendent to cancel the advertisement of loss of myself and restore my rights. He answered me that I was not depending of the BMPJ of Birkhadem, but of that of El Madania (former PCO). I asked him immediately: “Why did you convoke me three times to the BMPJ of Birkhadem for long questionings indicated by police records in audition when they are not depending on your administration district?”
Embarrassed, he didn’t answer and left the office. This is my situation, five years after my liberation. I was deprived of my civilian rights, always “wanted”, a real sword of Damocles in the head and regularly harassed by the police convokes in the era of “the civilian agreement” and in the margin of “the national reconciliation” and “the general amnesty”.
