Algeria: appeal trial of "the hidden girl" of ex-president Bouteflika
The court of Sidi M'hamed in Algiers, December 2, 2019. (Photo illustration) RYAD KRAMDI / AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
In Algeria, the appeal trial of "Madame Maya", presented as the hidden daughter of ex-president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was held this weekend in Tipaza, in western Algiers.
This trial is presented as a symbol of the fight against corruption.
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At first instance, last October 14, Zoulikha-Chafika Nachinache (real name) who was posing as the daughter of the deposed president, was sentenced to 12 years in prison as well as a fine of 40,000 euros for “
Money laundering
”, “
squandering of public funds
” and “
influence peddling
”.
Unknown to the general public, "
Madame Maya
" is accused of having taken advantage of her status to obtain the support of several senior officials close to the former president.
These links would have allowed him to build a financial and real estate empire with the utmost discretion.
Through this appeal trial, the prosecution is asking for heavier sentences to set an example in the fight against corruption.
On Saturday, it was a detached woman who appeared before the judges, denying that she had presented herself as the president's daughter.
Six villas and properties in Spain
"
I never said that I was the daughter of X or Y
", replies flatly "
Madame Maya
" who presents herself as a "
business woman
" and who instead used her married name - Ms. Belaachi - to "
Do multiple import
", in his words.
“
How did you acquire the six villas and the property in Spain
?
“
Asks the prosecutor.
No specific answer: "
Madame Maya
" claims to have sold an apartment in France to buy another in Spain, which has been let.
“
The income allowed me to buy more,
” she
explains.
“
I have daughters that I wanted to protect, especially since I was condemned by a serious illness,
” she
insists.
17 kg of jewelry and a million euros
Asked about 17 kg of gold jewelry and large sums of money (nearly a million euros and $ 30,000 in cash) seized in one of her residences, "
Madame Maya
" remains evasive.
“
You are accused of influence peddling,
” the judge reminds him.
"
We need proof, I refute these facts
", answers the defendant.
The trial also targets a dozen politicians including two former ministers and the former director of the police accused of having contributed to this vast system of corruption.
Among them, Mohamed Ghazi, the former wali of the region of Chlef who claims to have confined himself to "
carrying out the orders of the president
".
“
I did not fly, he assures us in tears, I did not know this lady
”.
If he attributed an abandoned forest to Madame Maya, it is "
only on the instructions of the president
", assures this former Minister of Labor.
The Tipaza prosecution requested a 15-year prison sentence against "
Madame Maya
" and 10 years in prison against her two daughters, also prosecuted for "
money laundering
" and "
squandering of public funds
".
► To read also: Algeria: the influential businesswoman "Madame Maya" condemned for corruption
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