May 6, 1999
His Excellency Abdelaziz Bouteflika
President of the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria
c/o His Excellency Ambassador Lamamra Remtane
Embassy of Algeria
2118 Kalorama Rd., N.W.
Washington, DC 20008
Your Excellency,
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a non-governmental organization of journalists devoted to upholding press freedom worldwide, writes to you about Djamel Eddine Fahassi and Aziz Bouabdallah, two Algerian journalists who were abducted by men believed to be state security agents on May 6, 1995, and April 12, 1997, respectively. For several years, our organization has expressed its deep concern to the Algerian government about their continued “disappearance” and urged that immediate action be taken to ascertain their whereabouts. Most recently, during an October 27, 1998, meeting with former Communications and Culture Minister Habib Chawki Hamraoui in Algiers, representatives from CPJ urgently called on the Algerian government to undertake meaningful efforts to locate both journalists. To our knowledge, authorities have yet to take any action toward solving these cases.
Four years ago today Djamel Eddine Fahassi, at the time a 41-year-old reporter for the state-run radio station Alger Chaine III and a contributor to several Algerian newspapers, was abducted by four well-dressed men carrying walkie-talkies near his home in the al-Harrache suburb of Algiers. According to eyewitnesses who later spoke with his wife, the men called out Fahassi’s name and then pushed him into a waiting car. He has not been seen since and Algerian authorities have denied any knowledge of his arrest.
Prior to his “disappearance,” Fahassi had been targeted by Algerian authorities on at least two occasions in response to his published criticisms of the government. In late 1991 he was arrested following the publication of an article in Al-Forqane, a weekly organ of the now-outlawed Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), criticizing a raid conducted by security forces on an Algiers neighborhood. He was convicted on January 1, 1992, by the Blida military court of disseminating false information, attacking a state institution, and disseminating information that could harm national unity. He received a one-year suspended sentence and was released, having served five months in custody. On February 17, 1992, he was arrested a second time for allegedly attacking state institutions and spreading false information, and he was transferred to the Ain Salah Detention Center in southern Algeria, where hundreds of Islamist suspects were interned in the months following the cancellation of elections in January 1992. He was later released on March 29.
There is strong evidence to suggest official state involvement in the “disappearance” of Fahassi and that of another journalist, Aziz Bouabdallah, a 22-year-old reporter for the daily Al-Alam al-Siyassi who was abducted from his home in the Chevalier section of Algiers by three armed men on the evening of April 12, 1997. According to Bouabdallah’s family, the men stormed
into their home, and after identifying Bouabdallah, grabbed him, put his hands behind his back and pushed him out the door into a waiting car. An article published in the daily El-Watan a few days after his abduction reported that Bouabdallah was in police custody and was expected to be released imminently. In July 1997, CPJ received credible information that Bouabdallah was being held in the Chateauneuf detention facility, where he had been subjected to torture. Currently, Bouabdallah’s whereabouts remain unknown and, as in the case of Djamel Eddine Fahassi, authorities have denied any knowledge of his abduction.
The families of Djamel Eddine Fahassi and Aziz Bouabdallah have looked tirelessly for clues to the fate of the two journalists, contacting the police, the National Guard, and the gendarmerie. In each case, they have been told that there is no information about either man. According to family members, Kemal Rezzag-Bara, president of the official National Human Rights Monitoring Body (Observatoire national des droits de l’homme, or ONDH), suggested to them that both men were probably abducted by “terrorists.” Despite such speculation, CPJ is unaware of any evidence to support this claim, nor are we aware of any official efforts to credibly investigate the journalists’ “disappearances” or to determine their condition and location.
The Committee to Protect Journalists writes today, on the four-year anniversary of Djamel Eddine Fahassi’s abduction, to strongly urge Your Excellency to immediately initiate an independent and impartial investigation into the “disappearances” of Fahassi and Aziz Bouabdallah, and to make the details of this investigation public. We also urge Your Excellency to devote the full resources of your office to locating both men and guaranteeing their safety while ensuring that those responsible for their abductions are brought swiftly to justice.
Thank you for your attention to this very important matter. We look forward to a reply at your earliest convenience.
Sincerely,
Ann K. Cooper
Executive Director
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His Excellency Abdelaziz Bouteflika
President of the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria
c/o His Excellency Ambassador Lamamra Remtane
Embassy of Algeria
2118 Kalorama Rd., N.W.
Washington, DC 20008