Lawyers for Lawyers, SHOAA for Human Rights, the Law Society of England and Wales, and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute express grave concern regarding the arbitrary travel restrictions imposed on Algerian human rights lawyer Mourad Zenati, which is believed to have been imposed due to his legitimate activities as a lawyer.
Mr. Zenati is a prominent human rights lawyer and a member of “The Collective for the Defense of Hirak Detainees” (hereinafter: the Collective). The Collective has been faced with intensifying harassment from authorities in recent years, on which several of the undersigned organisations issued a joint statement in April of this year highlighting our concerns regarding the escalating targeting of lawyers in Algeria.
On 9 August 2024, Mr. Zenati was prevented from leaving the national territory at the Om Taboul border post, due to a ban circular issued on December 1, 2022, by the Amizour Court in Bejaia. Mr. Zanati was not notified of this ban until he attempted to travel. Additionally, Mr. Zenati has been charged with ‘undermining national unity’ (article 79 of the Penal Code) and ‘inciting unarmed assembly’ (article 100 of the Penal Code), reportedly due to Facebook posts. Although these charges were ultimately suspended, it shows a clear pattern of harassment and attempts to limit Mr. Zenati’s fundamental freedoms, a practice the Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders has noted and expressed concerns over.
The travel ban imposed on Mr. Zenati appears to be in violation of Principle 16 of the UN Basic Principles. Furthermore, Algeria is bound by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to ensure the right to freedom of movement (article 12-2), as well as the right to freedom of expression (article 9-2) and association (article 22-1), obligations which appear to have been violated.
In our joint statement we condemn the ongoing harassment against Mr. Zenati and we urge the Algerian authorities to take measures accordingly.
Signatories:
Lawyers for Lawyers
SHOAA for Human Rights
Law Society of England and Wales
International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute
Read the full statement here.
