ALGIERS: The son of Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has been acquitted in a high-profile corruption case in which a prominent businessman was sentenced to prison, the national radio reported Thursday.
Khaled Tebboune had been in pre-trial detention since June 2018 in connection with alleged influence-peddling involving several senior officials, exposed after a cocaine seizure at an Algerian port.
An Algiers court acquitted him late Wednesday, while the principal accused, Kamel Chikhi, was sentenced to eight years in prison for “paying bribes in exchange for undue services,” in a case relating to construction permits and administrative authorizations.
The prosecutor had called for a two-year prison sentence for Khaled Tebboune, whose father did not have any official role at the time of his arrest.
Chikhi, known as “El Bouchi” (The Butcher), made his fortune in meat imports before becoming involved in property.
He was arrested in June 2018 after the seizure of 700 kilograms (1,500 pounds) of cocaine, found hidden in imported meat.
The investigation exposed a network of influence, with accusations that Chikhi, using cash and property, bought favors from high-level officials, magistrates and others within the regime of former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
Chikhi was sentenced to 10 years in prison last July on separate bribery charges.
A former mayor and the son of a former prefect were also sentenced Wednesday to six and four years in prison respectively.
While prime minister in 2017, Tebboune had launched an attack on oligarchs close to the state who were awarded huge public contracts.
He was sacked just three months after taking office but went on to win the country’s presidential election last December.
During his presidential campaign, Tebboune said the incarceration of his son sought to “punish” him for his 2017 attack.
Algerians took to the streets over a year ago to demonstrate against ailing Bouteflika’s bid for a fifth term.
The alleged links between Chikhi and Khaled Tebboune earned Abdelmadjid Tebboune the nickname “cocaine president” within the protest movement, which marked its one-year anniversary on February 22.
Bouteflika resigned in April last year after losing the support of the then-army chief in the face of enormous weekly demonstrations.
Algerian president’s son acquitted in high-profile corruption case
https://arab.news/9nnky
Algerian president’s son acquitted in high-profile corruption case
- Khaled Tebboune had been in pre-trial detention since June 2018
- During his presidential campaign, president Tebboune said incarceration of his son sought to “punish” him
Iraqi Kurdistan leader welcomes Syrian decree recognising Kurdish rights
- Remarks followed issuance of presidential decree by Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa
- Decree affirmed Syrian Kurds form integral part of the Syrian people
ERBIL: The President of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, on Saturday welcomed a new Syrian presidential decree recognising the country’s Kurdish population, Syrian state media reported.
Barzani described the move as a significant political and legal step toward building a new Syria, the Syrian Arab News Agency added.
In a statement, Barzani expressed support for efforts aimed at establishing a Syrian state that represents all its communities without discrimination or marginalization.
His remarks followed the issuance on Friday of a presidential decree by Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa.
The decree affirmed that Syrian Kurds are an integral part of the Syrian people and that their cultural and linguistic identity forms an inseparable component of Syria’s unified and diverse national identity, SANA reported.
The decree also formally recognized the Kurdish language and restores Syrian citizenship to all Kurdish Syrians.
The announcement came after clashes erupted last week in the northern city of Aleppo, leaving at least 23 people dead, according to Syria’s health ministry, and forcing more than 150,000 people to flee two Kurdish-run areas of the city.
The fighting ended after Kurdish fighters withdrew and Syrian army forces retook control of the area.
