This archive report was first published on 1 July 2020.
On July 1, 2020, a court in Algeria handed down significant jail terms to several high-profile figures, including business tycoon Ali Haddad, in a graft trial linked to the regime of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
Ali Haddad, the founder and CEO of construction firm ETRHB and former head of Algeria's main employers' organisation, was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Former prime ministers Ahmed Ouyahia and Abdelmalek Sellal, who were already behind bars over other graft cases, received 12-year sentences each.
Eight other former ministers were handed sentences ranging from two to 20 years. Haddad's brothers, Omar, Meziane, Sofiane, and Mohamed, were each given a four-year prison term, and the court ordered the seizure of family assets.
Lawyer Khaled Bourayou, representing Haddad, described the verdict as "obviously political" and stated that the businessman would appeal.
The trial is seen by some as a response to the widespread protests that led to Bouteflika's resignation in April 2019. However, many fear that the trials amount to little more than a power struggle between regime "clans".
