Members of the Algerian diaspora demonstrated in Brussels on Thursday to protest the repression of activists of the Hirak movement that took place in Algeria.
The Hirak movement started after former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika refused to step down and decided to run for a fifth mandate in 2019. The protests continued even after Botueflika left his post, with demonstrators calling for broad structural reforms.
The demonstrators in Brussels demanded the release of detainees in front of the headquarters of the Council of the European Union amid the opening of the EU-AU summit.
During the protest, demonstrators called on the EU to put pressure on Algeria’s regime to ensure the immediate release of Hirak activists.
The protestors chanted several slogans during the demonstration, including calling on the international community to mobilize to end the repression of voices critical of the Algerian regime.
In addition to protests in Brussels, members of the Algerian diaspora in Europe are planning different rallies to mark the third anniversary of the Hirak.
According to Algerian news outlet Algerie Part Plus, a collective of the Algerian diaspora on the European continent has carried out a rally in Rome in Italy to oppose Algeria’s regime.
Algerie Part Plus added that activities from the Algerian diaspora are additionally planning to organize a big march in Paris on February 20.
February 26 will see similar protests in Barcelona to denounce the “complicity of European States” with Algeria’s regime “which violates and flouts the most basic rights,” Algerie Part Plus added.
On December 27, 2021, UN experts released a report calling on the international community to end Algeria’s use of anti-terrorism laws against protesters, including Hirak activists.
“Based on the information we received and since 2019, a growing number of activists, journalists, and human rights deferences who played a role in the protests movement have been arrested under accusations linked to terrorism,” the report argued.
