Algerian authorities arrested the head of an opposition party for allegedly insulting President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and other charges, his wife and rights groups said. Fethi Ghares, 47, (pictured), coordinator for the small leftist Democratic and Social Movement party, was taken from his home last week in a suburb of Algiers, said his wife Messaouda Cheballah.
Lawyers for Ghares said he was detained on several charges, including "insulting the president" and "publishing information that could undermine national unity". No further details were given.
Said Salhi, vice-president of the Algerian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LADDH), said the arrest of Ghares was another sign of "repression" in the North African nation. "Political action is not a crime," Salhi said in a statement on Facebook, decrying that the head of a political party was "in prison for expressing his opinion". - AFP
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