Mohamed Tamalt
Mohamed Tamalt is a human rights defender and an independent Algerian journalist who had been based in Great Britain and who was openly critical of the Algerian government as means of improving human rights in the country. The human rights defender died under concerning circumstances on 11 December 2016 after being in detention since 27 June 2016 only a few days after arriving back in Algeria despite death threats against him. Mohamed went on hunger strike once he was arrested in 27 June 2016 and that was protest of the arbitrariness of his detention. His health continued to deteriorate rapidly when he was in prison and this led to his hospitalisation in August 2016. It was only then that his family noticed he has a scar on his head that they fear may be connected to his subsequent death. The circumstances surrounding the death of Mohamed Tamalt in prison are concerning and there is a need for an impartial and transparent investigation into his death.
The lifting of Algeria’s 19-year state of emergency in early 2011 did not have a positive effect on the situation of human rights defenders (HRDs). Human rights defenders have continued to be subjected to harassment, threats, physical attacks, arbitrary detention and legal proceedings.
Peaceful protests have been forcibly dispersed and protesters and human rights defenders have been arrested and charged. An indefinite 2001 ban on protests continue to remain in force in the capital Algiers. A number of HRDs have been put on trial under Article 100 of the Penal Code, which punishes the incitement of unarmed gathering.
