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Rabat – On Thursday, August 23, Algeria’s supreme court placed in custody the former justice minister, Tayeb Louh, on charges of fraud and abuse of power under the rule of ousted President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
The court also accused Louh of obstruction of justice, inciting to falsify official documents, and involvement in bias, according to Algerian state-owned news agency APS.
The examining magistrate at the supreme court heard the charges against Louh, minister of justice from 2013 to 2019.
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The former minister was placed in custody as part of the wide-scale crackdown on corruption launched by the supreme court, according to a statement by the public prosecutor.
On August 8, the court of Algiers announced the start of a preliminary probe into Louh over acts punishable by law. The court ordered the confiscation of Louh’s passport to prevent him from leaving the country.
Through a series of protests, which began on February 22, Algerians have been denouncing the wide corruption in the country, calling for accountability and for an end to impunity enjoyed by elites.
The Algerian protesters demanded a radical change of the whole “corrupt system,” including the dismissal of every official from Bouteflika’s era of 1999 to 2019.
Several other senior government officials have been placed in custody, including Algeria’s two former prime ministers, Ahmed Ouyahia and Abdelmalek Sellal.
