Algeria: European Parliament calls for action on human rights and expresses solidarity with demonstrators

On 26 November, the European Parliament adopted an urgency resolution highlighting “The deteriorating human rights situation in Algeria, in particular the case of journalist Khaled Drareni,” who was sentenced to two years in prison on 15 September 2020. Proposed by six out of the seven political groups, the resolution signals a broad agreement across the political spectrum. The undersigned national and international civil society organizations consider its adoption to be a timely and much needed step to address the escalating crackdown on civil society, peaceful activists, artists, journalists, and the independence of the judiciary.

The adopted text recalls the EP’s urgency resolution from 28 November 2019 on the situation of civic freedoms in Algeria, and expresses solidarity with “all Algerian citizens – women and men, from diverse geographic, socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds – who have been peacefully demonstrating since February 2019”. It highlights that “in 2020 women’s rights movements have intensified in their denunciation of the increasing violence against women” and have called for “the review of existing laws in order to guarantee full equality.”