In a surprising legislative move, the Algerian government announced its orientation towards "introducing a procedure for stripping the original or acquired Algerian nationality to be applied to every Algerian who deliberately commits acts outside the national territory that are likely to seriously damage the interests of the state or harm national unity," according to what the news agency reported. Official.

A government statement indicated that Minister of Justice Belkacem Zeghmati made a proposal Wednesday to a meeting of ministers, to amend the Algerian nationality law, which dates back to December 15, 1970.

The new law will apply to every person who activates or joins a terrorist organization, finances or glorifies it, and also includes everyone who deals with an enemy state, according to the text of the preliminary draft.

The government statement affirmed that "the stipulated provisions remain consistent with the international agreements in force in this field, which guarantee the right to appeal."

It is known that President Abdul Majeed Tebboune dissolved parliament last week, which means that the law will soon pass through a presidential order (a presidential order) in the absence of the people's representatives, as required by the presidential constitutional authorities.

The matter provoked rapid reactions in the public opinion, as the majority of jurists and political activists read the initiative in the direction of pursuing opponents from abroad, especially since their movements through social media platforms have become the main engine of the street, with the renewal of the popular movement since the celebrations of the second anniversary of the February 22, 2019 revolution, according to Monitors.

Dangerous precedent

Samir Belarbi, the released activist, wrote on his Facebook page, "The regime's intention to withdraw the nationality from its opponents abroad is the pinnacle of bankruptcy and failure ... No matter how much we disagree with some of them, we totally reject these measures and practices ... They are Algerians and no one is outbidding them."

Journalist Mohamed Sidmo also tweeted, saying, "The death penalty and revocation of nationality are powers if the dictator possesses them and creates atrocities."

Lawyer Abd al-Ghani Badi recorded his position on tweeting, "He was Algerian and became stateless. It is a doctrine that we did not know in the darkest crises, which constitutes a blatant attack on the right of citizenship and a violation of human rights."

Likewise, the activist abroad, Reda Boudera, spun off, writing, "The French occupation liquidated the leaders of the Algerian resistance, stripping them of their nationality and banishing them in various parts of the earth from the Levant to New Caledonia."

Constantine: The law is very dangerous and must pass through parliament and the popular referendum (Al-Jazeera)

Then he commented, "My grandfather, the founder of the contemporary Algerian state, I am Algerian by blood and foundation, and nationality is not papers."

For her part, blogger Leila Maqri wrote, "The project to withdraw the Algerian nationality from opponents of the Algerian regime, residing abroad, is a dangerous precedent that will touch us all as critics of an illegal regime's policy. An action like this is totally inconsistent with the international conventions that Algeria has signed (and agreed to) upon."

On the other hand, personalities welcomed the government move, as the former parliamentarian, Mohamed Al-Dawi, posted on his page saying, “Almost 6 years ago I submitted a written question to the Prime Minister, in which I asked him to withdraw the Algerian nationality from the abusers of the Algerian state abroad, and he replied to me that it was impossible, thank God. My order is now verified. "

University Professor Yahya Jafari also appeared in support of the government’s choice, writing, “With my admission that nationality is the most valuable possession of a human being, and removing it from the removal of the soul, and enforcing that is the harshest punishment and the most severe condemnation, as it is the aim of killing, if not more severe, but homelands have dignity And sanctity deserves to be preserved, even by physical and legal exile, and even retribution if it is not necessary, and it was issued by a body authorized by a right.

The "My Country" page also celebrated the project, where we read on its wall, "Hajj Zghmati's blows across continents ... revoking the nationality of traitors and debt sellers."

Strong guarantees

On the other hand, the former head of the National Consultative Committee for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, Farouk Ksentini, affirmed that "the law cannot be supported or rejected, because the Algerian legislator is master in principle, and no one can object to the enactment of laws in the country."

However, Constantine stated that the issuance of the penalty for revoking citizenship would not be accepted separately, but rather it could be applied only as a complementary punishment to the original penalties, resulting from crimes affecting persons in the event of a firm judicial conviction for misdemeanors and major felonies, such as national treason and espionage for the benefit of foreigners in all its forms, or destructive terrorist acts against The entity of the state and society.

In a statement to Al-Jazeera Net, he warned of the elasticity of the addresses of national unity, stressing that "the judicial construction in withdrawing nationality is only possible on material facts that actually amount to the level of punishment."

He expressed his fear of compromising the dignity of citizens and their individual freedoms, through the fabrication of harsh accusations as a result of propaganda and political difference or expression of opinion and press writings, as they are constitutional rights that are inalienable from the authority.

He also stressed the obligation of Algeria to act as a state of law, which "requires the provision of strong guarantees that prevent arbitrary application of this law, and before that it is subject to a broad societal human rights debate."

Therefore, he completely refused to rush to pass it before the election of a new parliament on behalf of the people, even if it required many months, but went further, proposing that the project be submitted to a transparent popular referendum, because the issue is extremely dangerous, as it is tantamount to a judgment of civil death in the right of persons, according to His expression.