Algerian ex-PM Sellal in custody over graft allegation
Algeria’s supreme court on Thursday remanded former Prime Minister
Abdelmalek Sellal in custody over allegations of corruption, state television
reported.
Sellal is one of the closest associates of former President
Abdelaziz Bouteflika to be detained since protests broke out in February,
demanding the prosecution of people the protesters regarded as corrupt.
Sellal, who served as prime minister and Bouteflika’s
campaign managers several times, is under investigation over “dissipation of
public funds”.
His lawyer was not immediately available for comment.
On Wednesday, the same court had ordered the detention of
another former prime minister, Ahmed Ouyahia, for alleged involvement in
corruption, including “awarding illegal privileges and dissipation of public
funds”.
A judge at the supreme court confiscated the passport of
former Transport and Public Works Minister Abdelghani Zaalane and ordered him
to show up at the court once a month, state TV reported on Thursday, after
saying on Wednesday he was detained.
Bouteflika stepped down on April 2 under pressure from the
army, which is now the main decision-maker. Its chief of staff, Ahmed Gaed
Salah, has urged the courts to speed up prosecution of people suspected of
involvement in corruption.
Bouteflika’s youngest brother, Said, and two former
intelligence chiefs have been placed in custody by a military judge for
“harming the army’s authority and plotting against state authority”.
Several prominent businessmen, some of them close to
Bouteflika, have been detained pending trial.
Protesters are now seeking the departure of interim
President Abdelkader Bensalah and Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui, both seen
as part of the elite that has ruled the North African country since
independence from France in 1962.
Authorities have postponed a presidential election
previously planned for July 4, citing a lack of candidates. No new date has
been set for the vote.