Two Algerian opposition figures arrested ahead of elections

A group of lawyers defending jailed activists from Algeria's pro-democracy movement says a politician and a journalist who are prominent opposition figures have been arrested days before the country’s parliamentary election

ALGIERS, Algeria -- A politician and a journalist who are prominent opposition figures in Algeria have been arrested days ahead of the country's parliamentary election, according to a group of lawyers defending jailed activists of the pro-democracy movement. The National Committee for the Liberation of the Detained said politician Karim Tabbou was arrested Thursday night at his home in the southwestern suburbs of Algiers. Tabbou is a very popular activist with the pro-democracy Hirak movement. He previously was imprisoned from September 2019 to July 2020, and spent more than a month under judicial supervision, which prohibited him from engaging in any political activity. The decision followed a complaint for “assault” filed by the president of the National Council of Human Rights, a government-related body.