The military court in Blida, southwest Algeria, on Wednesday morning sentenced former President Said Bouteflika's brother, two former security officials and the head of a political party to 15 years in prison for "conspiring against the state to change the regime."
According to APS, the judge sentenced Said Bouteflika (brother of the former president), Mohamed Medine, former general of the intelligence services, to 15 years in prison, and Bashir Tartak, the coordinator of the security services, and Labor Party leader Louisa Hanoune.
The military court also sentenced the 20-year prison sentence in absentia against former Defense Minister Major General Khaled Nizar and his son, as well as businessman Farid bin Hamdeen.
Since Monday, three defendants in the case have appeared before the military court on charges of conspiring against state authority and conspiracy against the commander of a military squad.
Bachir Tartak refused to attend the court session, while the brother of the former president and his adviser, Said Bouteflika, left the court to his prison half an hour after the start of the trial.
Only retired Lieutenant General Mohamed Medine and Louisa Hanoune attended the trial.
At the beginning of the trial, the military court rejected a request from the Tawfiq and Hanoun defense teams to postpone the trial.
Algeria has been experiencing unprecedented protests since February 22, forcing Abdelaziz Bouteflika to step down for a fifth term and resign as president on April 2, after two decades in power.
Since then, the judiciary has launched a series of investigations on suspicion of corruption against political, military and business leaders accused of taking advantage of their privileged relations with the Bouteflika region.