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Doha – Algerian authorities have arrested seven individuals, including four Moroccan nationals, accusing them of belonging to a “spy network” aimed at undermining Algerian state security.
The detentions come just days before Algeria’s presidential election scheduled for September 7.
The baseless charges, announced by prosecutors in the western Algerian city of Tlemcen on Sunday, appear to be a politically motivated attempt to stir up anti-Moroccan sentiment.
According to the public prosecutor’s office, an investigating judge issued an order on Sunday to place the seven individuals, four of whom are Moroccan, in provisional detention after the recent dismantling of an alleged “spy and intelligence network working to undermine state security.”
Specifically, a judicial investigation has been opened against the detainees “on charges of felony conspiracy with a foreign country or one of its agents” as well as “misdemeanor of illegally entering Algerian territory” for three of the Moroccans, the prosecutor’s office said, according to Algeria’s official radio station.
Prosecutors allege the network “recruited Moroccan and Algerian nationals in order to undermine Algerian security and administrative institutions.”
They stated that on August 24, a Moroccan who had “illegally entered national territory” was arrested, and that authorities uncovered the alleged “espionage” case after “exploiting the individual’s mobile phone with permission from the prosecution and after questioning him.”
The suspect was working “within a spy and intelligence network working for a foreign party alongside Moroccan and Algerian nationals,” prosecutors added.
Tensions have been high between the North African neighbors since Algeria unilaterally severed diplomatic relations with Morocco in August 2021 over disputed allegations that Rabat has consistently rejected.
The latest detentions of Moroccans on vague conspiracy charges with scant evidence is yet another escalation by Algiers.
Morocco has long sought to mend fences with Algeria through dialogue, but these latest provocations on the eve of Algeria’s presidential vote suggest Algiers is more interested in scapegoating Moroccans for political gain than in pursuing regional harmony and stability.
Read also: Western Sahara: Algeria Continues to Spread Falsehoods in Efforts to Mask Diplomatic Isolation
