An Algerian-Canadian citizen who was unjustly imprisoned for a month in Algeria for expressing his political opinions from Montreal, according to his relatives, was unable to return to Montreal as planned on Saturday. An “incomprehensible” situation which plunges his wife and his lawyer into darkness.
After a visit to his relatives in Algeria, the Canadian with dual nationality Lazhar Zouaïmia was arrested by the police in Constantine at the time of his departure on February 19. He then faced several criminal charges, including for “praising terrorist acts through media and communication technology” and also for allegedly supporting “a terrorist group”.
In fact, retorted his relatives and his lawyers, Mr. Zouaïmia was detained for having expressed on social networks and in the street, in Montreal, his support for Hirak, a protest movement in favor of democracy in Algeria, where an autocratic military regime rules the roost. The man, who also got involved with Amnesty International in Montreal, was reportedly arrested because of his positions contrary to those of the authorities in power in Algeria, a practice that has become common in the country.
After more than a month of detention, the man was provisionally released on March 30. The terrorism charges against him have also been dropped. Mr. Zouaïmia, a unionized employee of Hydro-Quebec, will however have to appear before an Algerian court at the end of May to be tried for the offense of undermining national unity.
“We are in the most total incomprehension”
In the meantime, the man is not subject to any ban on free movement and can therefore leave the country. “We were told that he had no warrant preventing him from leaving Algerian territory. So, we were confident “that he could return home, to Montreal, pending the next hearing before the Court, told the To have to Saturday the lawyer of the committed citizen, Zoubida Assoul.
Thus, Mr. Zouaïmia went to Algiers airport on Saturday, where he was to take a plane at 10 a.m. this morning in the direction of Montreal. He was then accompanied by his lawyer and two representatives of the Canadian Embassy in Algeria. A press conference was also to take place in the middle of the afternoon on Saturday in Montreal to mark his return, it was indicated to the To have to.
However, when he arrived at customs, agents questioned him for “for an hour”, which caused him to miss his flight, said Zoubida Assoul in a telephone interview. After receiving further confirmation that there was no warrant preventing him from leaving the country, the father of the family, with the help of his wife Fatima Benzerara, bought a new plane ticket to Barcelona, Spain, where he had to take another flight afterwards to get to Montreal.
However, history repeated itself: border agents again questioned the man at length, causing him to miss his flight. “No one told him why he is being prevented from leaving,” said Ms. Assoul. Short of resources, Mr. Zouaïmia resumed his journey back to the house of his relatives, several hours by road from Algiers airport. The moment when he will be able to leave the country remains uncertain.
“It’s disappointment and it’s misunderstanding”, sighed to the To have to Saturday Fatima Benzerara, when questioned about this turnaround. However, she had been assured that her husband “is free to move and can go home,” she recalled. “He was arrested and he was turned away without explanation,” she continues.
An indignation shared by Zoubida Assoul, Lazhar Zouaïmia’s lawyer. “We are in the most total incomprehension”, launched the lawyer, who cannot understand “what made that he was prevented from leaving” Algeria.
“What I can assure you is that at the level of border services, we were assured that there was no warrant against him” which would prevent the man from leaving the country, added Ms. Assoul, who says he is “in total vagueness” for the rest of things. In order to put an end to this impasse, the lawyer joins her voice to the wife of Mr. Zouaïmia by calling on the Canadian authorities.
“For the moment, I think that the Canadian authorities, at least the embassy and the consulate, could ask the Ministry of Foreign Affairs [de l’Algérie] why Lazhar was prevented from returning home, on what basis. This is the first step to take, in my opinion,” concluded the lawyer.
Global Affairs Canada had not responded to our questions at the time of this writing.
With Fabien Deglise