Rabat – Despite an all-out ban on “unauthorized protests,” hundreds of protesters turned out for the 117th Friday protest. Since 2019, the Hirak (movement) has been vocal in its fight for democracy and the end of a military state as Algeria’s current government continues to suppress the rights of its people.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hirak movement was mostly active in online spaces due to health precautions. However, since February 2021, the movement has returned to in-person protests and has been met with a large, often violent, police response.
The UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recently demanded that Algerian authorities “cease all forms of harassment and intimidation.” Additionally, the UN accused the Algerian government of breaking international human rights law by using police force to deny Algerians the right to protest.
Read also: UN: OHCHR Calls On Algeria to End Unjust Arrests of Hirak Protesters
The UN’s warnings appear to have been ignored in the Presidential palace in Algiers as on Sunday, May 9, the government banned all unauthorized protests. Algeria’s government cited the omnipresent threat of the COVID-19 virus, despite the country only reporting 207 newly detected cases to the WHO over the past 24 hours
The Ministry of Interior threatened those that plan to gather for the weekly protest in a statement. “Failure to comply with these procedures will result in violating the law and the constitution, which denies the legitimacy of the march, and it will be necessary to deal with it on this basis,” said the ministry.
Video footage shows hundreds of protestors facing off against police in riot gear in front of Algiers’ al-Rahma mosque. Police used riot shields to force the crowd through a narrow corridor away from the mosque.
State media reported that hundreds of protestors were arrested including political leaders such as head of the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD) party Mohsen Bel Abbas and the National Coordinator of the Social Democratic Movement Party Fathi Grass.
Outside of Algeria’s capital city, members of the Hirak movement protested in smaller cities such as Setif, Bordj Bou Arreridj, Oran, and Mostaganem.
Despite the federal ban on “unauthorized” protest, it is expected that the Hirak protests are likely to continue every Friday until their demands for change are met.
