Since 28 January, some 40 political prisoners in Algeria have been on hunger strike, demanding their release from illegal and arbitrary detention and a halt to the increasing prosecution of democracy activists on charges of ‘terrorism’ under the new Article 87bis of the criminal code. Women, youth and trade unionists are among the hunger strikers incarcerated under ‘provisional detention’, awaiting trail and sentencing. Several leaders of SNAPAP, the independent union of workers in public administration, have joined the strike in solidarity from outside.
Repression in Algeria has escalated significantly since the mass movement for democracy, the Hirak, erupted in February 2019. COVID took the Hirak off the streets in 2020, but the revival of strikes and street protests early last year led to a brutal crackdown. Following the highly mediatized release of some 40 prisoners last February, the National Committee for the Release of the Detainees counted 70 prisoners of conscience. Today they number 330.
Independent trade unionists in Algeria face dual repression. They have been ceaselessly persecuted for their fight for trade union rights and are now repressed for their engagement in the Hirak. Since 2017, the supervisory bodies of the International Labour Organization (ILO) have regularly confirmed violations of basic trade union rights in Algeria and called on the country’s government to guarantee the rights of unions independent of the state, so far without result.
