By RFIPubliée the 31-07-2019Modified the 31-07-2019 at 19:22
Algerian President Abdelkader Bensalah fired Justice Minister Slimane Brahmi on Wednesday (July 31st) and replaced him with Belkacem Zeghmati, the current prosecutor of Algiers, after consulting with Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui, according to a statement from the Presidency.
The presidency does not cite any reason for this dismissal, but states that it was done in accordance with the Constitution. However, according to Article 104 of the Basic Law, the government in office when a president resigns can not be reshuffled until the election of a new head of state.
This case applies to Slimane Brahmi, who was appointed last March 31 with the entire current government by Abdelaziz Bouteflika, two days before his resignation.
So, if this appointment is not formally legal, it is very political.
Belkacem Zeghmati is the man who issued an arrest warrant against Chakib Khelil in 2013. He was sacked in 2015 by Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
He became public prosecutor of Algiers on May 20th. #Algeria
Belkacem Zeghmati, the new Minister of Justice is a personality that Algerians know well. He had made an impression in 2013 by issuing an international arrest warrant for corruption against Chabib Khelil, the former Minister of Energy , a very powerful man, close to Abdelaziz Bouteflika. In the end, the arrest warrant was canceled for want of form in 2016, and the prosecutor removed from office.
Belkacem Zeghmati had just returned to his position as head of the Algiers Court of Justice. Today, he becomes Minister of Justice in a context where the authorities insure that they want to tackle corruption.
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