“Neither Bouteflika nor your God can save you our hands”

Testimony of torture

“Neither Bouteflika nor your God can save you our hands”

Mohamed Belkheir remaining in Lakhdaria, Mars 2003

Observatory of the human rights in Algeria (ODHA), Algeria-Watch, May 13, 2003, Tranlation from french

Belkheir Mohamed, born on March 06, 1964 in Thenia (Boumerdes), residing in Lakhdaria, married and father of two. Restaurateur.
I was arrested during the night from the 16th to 17th March at approximately 00.30 by some armed men declaring not to be neither police officers nor gendarmes but the “Gods of Algeria”, according to their own words. During my arrest, these people awoke my 4 and 11 years old children by their cries, their abusive and threatening remarks. I was then handcuffed in the back in front of my children and my wife and pushed to the exit door. My wife who asked them for explanations to this arbitrary arrest, was shoved and roughly hit. I was then thrown in a white and unmarked Toyota 4×4, the head between the knees. I could notice the motor column which was composed of five white Toyota 4×4 and one seven-seter saloon Peugeot 405 of white color and unmarked too. Some of the persons who took part in my kidnapping were fited out with black battle dresses. Some of them wore helmets, others were in plain clothes. All of them were armed with Kalachnikovs. Some had walkie-talkies and bulletproof jackets.

During my transfer, my hand was burned with haschich (drug) cigarettes of which I know the odor. Close to Ben Aknoun, one covered my head with my jacket in order to prevent me from seeing which way we drove. I managed to notice that we entered Ben Aknoun. It is impossible for me to exactly say where I was held for ten days. As soon as I arrived in this place, one brutally ordered me to undress and one provided me with a green military uniform composed of battle trousers and jacket of the Algerian army. I was then locked in the cell n° 3 facing the toilet. The cell n° 3 is one meter wide by 2,50 (made up of eight vinyl tile-floor of 30 cm). And the walls are made of earthenware tiles, about 1,50 meters high. It seems to me that these conversions are recent. And according to what I could see through the cracks of the hatch of the door, it seems to to me that there are 18 cells divided into two lines by a corridor. While I was in the cell n° 3, I heard the cries of a victim of torture. After hearing the door of a cell open and close again on the victim of torture, one came and fetched me. Approximately 20 minutes after my arrival, it came to my turn to be tortured. While leaving the cell, I had to bend over and to move forwards under blows and insults like: “Neither Bouteflika nor your God can save you from our hands, we can kill you as well we can release you, the choice is ours”. I was thus taken off to an office where eight people stood with malicious faces and hooligans’ behaviours and who claimed to belong to the DRS. One made me sit down on a metal chair sealed to the floor. I wanted to know the causes of this arrest and without finishing the sentence, I received blows on both sides from my torturers who blindly carried out the orders of their leader. And it was answered to me: “either you speak here or you experience the rag”. Still wanting to know the causes of my presence in these premises, I was taken off to the room where there is a table of torture on which are fixed white straps. At the foot of this table was a plastic jerrycan (oil jerrycan) of 5 liters, cut and filled with water. I was entirely stripped and tied up on this table, the arms, the legs, the thighs, the feet and the chest fixed by the straps. A wet rag (my underpants) was put on my mouth and my eyes blindfolded by my undershirt. Before beginning tortures, they said to me: “when you want to talk, raise your right index-finger”. Not knowing what to talk about, I was tortured for several hours, I suffocated. Soapy water was poured in my mouth, while others struck me with an electric cable of large diameter on all the part of my body, being always particularly after my sex. This session was stopped for a few seconds to enable me to speak and answer the questions of my torturers which I did not understand. Not having anything to talk about, the sessions began again always more relentlessly.

I then was released from my straps and was struck on my buttocks with a handle of pickaxe, while being taken back to my cell. Before closing again the door, they said to me to think about, because as for them, they had plenty of time.

After physical tortures, came moral tortures. On the evening of March 17, 2003, I was taken off again to the interrogation room. One was declared to me: « Either you talk or we bring your wife and we will give he to the terrorists who occupy the next cells”. Facing this undeniable fact and knowing that my wife looked for me outside, I chose to wrongly denounce all my neighbors and friends in order to shorten my martyrdom and my sufferings. Not being satisfied of my statements, they transferred me from the interrogation room to the torture one where I was tied up on the table, blindfolded. I underwent torture by electricity. A wire was rolled up on the toe of my wet left foot. Then they put on me (especially on my sex) another wire which activated an electric shock. They alternated with rag sessions. These tortures lasted until Sunday March 23. Every day, they tortured me morning and evening, exhausted and tired, I underwent moral tortures (insults, threats to bring my wife and to strip her in front of me and of the torturers).

I heard the screams of the other prisoners who were tortured. I was really afraid by these crazy men who were able to do anything. They insulted everyone: justice, ONG, political parties, especially Aït Ahmed (FFS) and the president Bouteflika and his policy of reconciliation. One torturer said to me: “If Bouteflika settles the problem of the terrorism, with who will we then work?”.

On Friday March 21, 2003, I was not tortured for all day long.
On Sunday evening, March 23, one made me sign a pile of typed sheets without enable me to read anything. And under the threats to experience again the torture table, I preferred to sign in order to leave these sinister places and these uneducated torturers and to be brought before the courts. A doctor examined me and drew a certificate, disregarding the body maltreatment which I declared to him and which he saw. I think that he is an accomplice who works at the service of the DRS.

After my passing towards the examining magistrate, still under the threats of reprisals if I denied the statement of the DRS and my transfer to the prison of Serkadji (Algiers), I could exhibit the obvious signs of tortures to the doctor of the prison who ascertained them and drew a certificate countersigned by the governor of the penitentiary establishment. A copy of this certificate was transmitted to the examining magistrate of the 5th section of the court of Algiers. I was imprisoned on March 26, 2003, but I was examined by the doctor of the prison only on April 02, that is to say one week afterwards.

I do not have any bond with the terrorists, not at all. I am a democratic ordinary citizen, known by everyone in the area of Lakhdaria for my kindness and my education. I supported the electoral drive (APC/APW) FFS of Aït Ahmed. I denounced the methods of tortures of the services of safety as I gave away a member of the services of safety for his implication in the cases of disappearances in the area (Lakhdaria). To avenge themselves on me, they wrongly accused me and without conspicuous evidence.
I ask for your assistance, Misters. I am innocent!  

Prison of Serkadji. May 13, 2003.
Belkheir Mohamed.
N°: 55373.