Hacen Louddi
Date of arrest: 1995-04-09
Forces responsible: Police
Summary
Hacen Louddi used to work as an educator. He was questioned by the police for the first time in March 1995. On that occasion, he was taken to the police station in El Harrach for questioning, and then released without being charged. Shortly thereafter, on April 9, 1995, at 2.15 p.m., plain-clothed police officers arrived at Hacen Louddi’s workplace, the Boumati El-Harrach secondary school, in two unmarked cars. They asked the principal of the school to summon Hacen Louddi to his office, then checked his identity papers and led him towards their cars, outside the school premises. The next day, the principal sent a letter to the head of the Algiers school district informing him that Hacen Louddi had been arrested. According to a number of witnesses, the two cars used during Hacen Louddi’s arrest belonged to the police, specifically to the Châteauneuf Operational Command Headquarters (PCO). Several persons detained at the Châteauneuf PCO subsequently confirmed that Hacen Louddi had been held there for about seven months before he disappeared. He was seen there for the last time on the night November 18, 1995 by one of his fellow detainees, who saw him being taken from his cell.
Steps taken
1995: Hacen Louddi’s mother files a complaint with the Chief Prosecutor at Bir-Mourad-Raïs.
October 28, 1995: Hacen Louddi’s mother sends a complaint to the Chief Prosecutor at the Court of Tizi-Ouzou.
March 28, 1996: Hacen Louddi’s mother writes to the Minister of Justice, to no avail.
October 19, 1998: The family notifies the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID).
October 29, 1998: Hacen Louddi’s spouse petitions the Chief Prosecutor at the Algiers Court of Justice to institute proceedings against a person or persons unknown for the crime of abduction.
April 12, 1999: An investigation is launched at the request of the State Prosecutor. The latter interviews many witnesses who testify to having been detained in the same cell as Hacen Louddi.
October 27, 1999: The investigating judge issues an order for dismissal of proceedings on the grounds that the parties responsible for Hacen Louddi’s disappearance are unknown.
December 14, 1999: Following an appeal lodged by Hacen Louddi’s spouse, the indictments chamber of the Algiers Court of Appeals invalidates the order for dismissal of proceedings and returns the case to the investigating judge for supplementary investigation.
June 27, 2004: A request for judicial assistance is addressed to the Director of Security Services in the wilaya of Algiers in order to establish the identity of the employees at the time of the events.
December 25, 2004: The Prosecution issues a second order for dismissal of proceedings on the grounds that Hacen Louddi’s name is not in the lists of persons detained in 1995.
December 29, 2004: Hacen Louddi’s spouse appeals this order.
February 1, 2005: The indictments chamber of the Algiers Court of Appeal invalidates the order for dismissal of proceedings and again sends the case back to the same investigating judge.
May 8, 2006: Hacen Louddi’s spouse obtains an official certification of her husband’s disappearance.
October 18, 2006: The family obtains a certificate of disappearance.
March 27, 2007: A third order for dismissal of proceedings is issued by the investigating judge.
April 29, 2007: The indictments chamber of the Algiers Court of Appeal upholds the order. Hacen Louddi’s spouse challenges the decision before the Algerian Supreme Court, to no avail.
October 21, 2007: The family affairs office of the Court of Algiers officially acknowledges that Hacen Louddi had been missing since April 9, 1995.
September 19, 2011: Having exhausted all domestic remedies, Hacen Louddi’s mother seizes the UN Human Rights Committee.
Decision of the Human Rights Committee
Communication number: 2117/2011
Date adopted: 2014-10-30
Source/Author: Halima Louddi, represented by Philippe Grant of the Swiss organization Track Impunity Always (TRIAL).
Violations found:
Right to an effective remedy (including in relation to the author), right to life, prohibition of torture and cruel or inhuman treatment (including in relation to the author), right to liberty and security of person, respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, recognition as a person before the law and protection of family life.
Recommendations:
The State party must provide the author and her family with an effective remedy, including by: (a) conducting a thorough and effective investigation into the disappearance of Hacen Louddi and providing the author and her family with detailed information about the results of its investigation; (b) releasing Hacen Louddi immediately if he is still being detained incommunicado; (c) in the event that Hacen Louddi is deceased, handing over his remains to his family; (d) prosecuting, trying and punishing those responsible for the violations committed; and (e) providing adequate compensation to the author and her family for the violations suffered and to Hacen Louddi, if he is still alive. Notwithstanding the terms of Ordinance No. 06-01, the State party should ensure that it does not impede enjoyment of the right to an effective remedy for crimes such as torture, extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. The State party is also under an obligation to take steps to prevent similar violations in the future.
Implemented by the Algerian authorities?: No
