On 4 July, a court of appeal in Algiers confirmed the sentencing of Amazigh activist Slimane Bouhafs to three years in prison and a 100,000DA (around USD 734) fine. Slimane Bouhafs had been granted refugee status in Tunisia in 2020. However, this did not protect him from being kidnapped from his home in Tunis and tried on charges of terrorism for his supposed affiliations to a Kabylie independence organisation in September 2021 and since held in Kolea prison, near to Algiers. Not only are the charges against Slimane Bouhafs bogus, but his entire trial is illegal under international human rights law. He must be released immediately and all charges against him dropped.
