US slams Algeria for designating two anti-regime groups as terrorist organizations

The United States slammed Algerian authorities for designating two anti-regime political groups as terrorist organizations.

In its “Country Reports on Terrorism 2021”, the U.S. State Department pointed out that “Algerian authorities targeted more frequently the Berber separatist Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie and the Islamist movement Rachad, which the government designated as terrorist organizations in May.”

“The United States considers these designations more political than security focused, as both groups are highly critical of the government and do not appear to have committed what the United States defines as terrorist acts”, it said. In counterterrorism related engagement with the United States, “Algerian authorities have notably refrained from discussing these groups or the alleged threats they pose”, the State Department stressed, adding that the Algerian government “occasionally charged individuals with terrorism-related crimes for activities that appeared to constitute expression and peaceful activism.”

In 2021, “Algeria amended its penal code to broaden the definition of terrorist acts and to create a national list of terrorist individuals and entities”, the same source said, adding that the Algerian government “used the new amendments to detain political activists and outspoken critics of the government”.