A group of anti-Algerian regime demonstrators protested against the police state in Algeria by throwing eggs at Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s convoy during his visit to Portugal.
Tebboune kicked off a two-day visit to Portugal on Monday to hold discussions and deepen bilateral relations between Algiers and Lisbon.
Videos have gone viral online of protesters following the convoy while singing anti-Algerian regime chants, especially taking issue with the illegitimacy of Tebboune’s government.
جزائريون رافضون لحكم العسكر يرشقون سيارة عبد المجيد تبون والوفد المرافق له بالبيض اثناء مروره بأحد شوارع لشبونة عاصمة البرتغال #الجزائر #البرتغال #تبون pic.twitter.com/U1U0QcyzH8
— وليد كبير Oualid KEBIR (@oualido) May 23, 2023
The chants also slammed Algeria’s military interferences, stressing that the North country is a civilian and not a military state.
Many Algerian protesters, particularly those living abroad, continue their social movement against military repression in the North African country.
The concerns are part of the ongoing Hirak movement that started in 2019. The movement broke out after former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced his intention to run for a fifth consecutive term in office.
Although the Hirak movement was successful in ousting Bouteflika, many of its calls for democratic reforms have not been dismissed.
According to reports, COVID-19 lockdowns and arbitrary arrests of activists and journalists combined to undermine the pro-democracy protest movement.
Many NGOs and institutions continue to appeal against the arbitrary arrests and prison sentences targeting activists and journalists who were among the main drivers of the Hirak movement.
On May 11, the European Parliament adopted a resolution urging the Algerian regime to “immediately release” detained activists and journalists.
The resolution was adopted through an overwhelming vote of 539 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). Only 18 MEPs abstained while four others voted against the resolution.
According to the European Parliament, the resolution sought to urge Algeria’s authorities to release all arbitrarily detained dissidents as well as activists or journalists “charged for exercising their rights,” including journalist Ihsane El Kadi.
