Amnesty International (AI) has demanded that authorities in Algeria unconditionally release and drop all charges against three members of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light.
They were arrested last week for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of religion.
The international rights organisation also urged the Algerian government to drop all charges against 21 other members of the group, who have been released pending investigation.
The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light, established in 1993, follows the teachings of Imam Mahdi and believes in Imam Ahmed al-Hassan as its divine guide. There are currently an estimated 70 members of the group in Algeria.
‘The Algerian authorities have legal obligations to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the right to freedom of religion of everyone in the country which includes those with religious beliefs that are different to the majority’, AI’s Deputy Director for North Africa, Amna Guellali, said in a statement.
‘It is outrageous that a group of people find themselves behind bars simply for practising their faith or for their beliefs’.
‘Algerian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release the three detained men and drop all charges against them and the 21 other members of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light’.
Amnesty said Algerian authorities have been intimidating and harassing the group in Bejaia since April 2022, including interrogating them about their religious beliefs and confiscating their passports, phones and laptops.
A spokesperson for the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light, Hadil El Khouly, also told AI that members of the group in Bejaia have been interrogated by police a total of ten times over the past three months.
Development Diaries had reported in February 2022 that the number of prisoners of conscience in the North African country had reached a new record 340.
Freedom House also rated Algeria ‘not free’ in its 2022 Freedom in the World report of political rights and civil liberties, with the country earning 32 points out of a possible 100.
Photo source: Amnesty International
