Some 1,000 lawyers demonstrated in Algiers yesterday to demand the independence of the judiciary and the release of "political detainees" who are awaiting trial because of the lifting of the Amazigh flag during demonstrations. Mass protests demanding the departure of the ruling elite.
The lawyers, who came from various parts of Algeria, gathered in Sidi Mohamed's court in central Algiers, shouting "free lawyers who do not accept shame."
The lawyers also decided to boycott the pleadings, and the work of the judiciary for one day, as stressed by Moumen Shadi, lawyer of Constantine (400 km east of Algeria).
"We are on the street in order to demand the independence of justice. The judiciary must be independent of all authorities. "
"Our exit is also to denounce the arrest of young men who raised the Amazigh flag, and a historic leader like Lakhdar Borkaa for reasons of opinion. We demand the release of political prisoners and all detainees of conscience. "
Lakhdar Bourqa'a, a leader of the Liberation Army during the War of Independence against France, has been in custody since June 30 pending trial on charges of "insulting a regular body and weakening the morale of the army" after comments critical of the army.
The lawyers then walked towards the headquarters of the two chambers of Parliament, breaking through the human security barrier set by the police, which spread strongly in the areas of the court and the parliament, and in the streets leading to them.
They shouted, "Thieves, you have eaten the country," "Be judges, do not be tyrants," and "a civil state, not a military one."
This latter slogan was warned by the army chief of staff, Lieutenant General Ahmed Kayed Saleh.
He said that during the demonstrations «false slogans and exposed goals and intentions such as a claim to the civil state, not the military state», the goal «to question every action carried out by the military and leadership». In the march of the lawyers, the police confiscated banners on part of which the Algerian flag, with the word «national», and the other part Amazigh banner, with the word «my identity».
This came at a time when Algerian deputies elected an opposition figure as parliament speaker, Suleiman Shanein of the National Construction Movement, to replace Maaz Bouchareb of the National Liberation Front (FLN), who ruled the country since independence from France in 1962. Shanein, 47, The youngest deputy to be elected as speaker of parliament. His party has only 15 seats in the 462-seat parliament, where the FLN and its coalition partners have an absolute majority. "We have the majority in the council, but the party has decided to contribute to the higher interest at the expense of the party's interests," the LTTE said in a statement.