Mohamed Mehalli

Date of arrest: 1998-06-29

Forces responsible: Military security

Summary

Mohamed Mehalli was arrested for the first time in 1995, after being summoned to Leveilley police station and imprisoned in El Harrach prison. Tried on January 1, 1997, he was sentenced to one year in prison for “belonging to a terrorist group” and “not reporting a killer”. As he had already spent 14 months in pretrial detention, he was released on January 2, 1997. During his detention, his son, Atik Mehalli, was shot dead during a police raid conducted on July 15, 1996.

Following his release, he was subjected to regular acts of intimidation and violence by the security forces. Mohamed Mehalli was abducted by military security on June 29, 1998, while he was driving. Meanwhile, soldiers and plainclothes police officers raided the family home. The next day, Mohamed’s daughter and her mother, worried because Mohamed had not come home, went to the police station, to no avail. When they returned home, military security officers were waiting for them. Mohamed’s daughter, sister and mother were blindfolded and taken in a van to Chateauneuf barracks, infamous for torture and incommunicado detention. Once in the barracks, the three women were held separately in different cells. From their cells, they could hear Mohamed Mehalli being tortured. His daughters were also subjected to torture and inhuman and degrading treatments in Chateauneuf.

The three women were held for eight days before they were taken back to their home. Just before they were released, one of Mohamed’s daughters saw her father from the window of her cell. He was being dragged by guards because he had difficulty walking. The family has not had any news of him since that day.

Steps taken

1998: One of Mohamed Mehalli’s daughters files appeals concerning the disappearance of her father.

September 21, 1998: The family files a complaint with the wilaya of Algiers, to no avail.

July 14, 1999: The family contacts the National Human Rights Observatory. They will later be informed that attempts to find Mohamed Mehalli has proved fruitless and that he has never been sought or arrested by the security forces.

May 8, 2000: The investigating judge of the tribunal of Hussein Dey orders that there are no grounds for prosecution.

August 8, 2000: The tribunal of Hussein Dey pronounces a second order of no grounds for prosecution.

July 22, 2000: The Tribunal of Hussein Dey rejects Mohamed Mehalli’s daughter request for a certificate attesting to the disappearance of her father, on the grounds that she does not have locus standi.

February 7, 2004: Mohamed Mehalli’s wife files a complaint before the Tribunal of Hussein Dey.

October 18, 2004: The Tribunal finally recognises Mohamed Mehalli’s disappearance.

July 4, 2006: The Bachdjarah gendarmerie issues a certificate of disappearance.

June 26, 2009: Having exhausted all domestic remedies, Mohamed Mehalli’s daughter seizes the UN Human Rights Committee.

Decision of the Human Rights Committee

Communication number: 1900/2009
Date adopted: 2014-03-21
Source/Author: Fatima Mehalli, represented by counsel, the Collectif des familles de disparu(e)s en Algérie.
Violations found:

Right to life, prohibition of torture and cruel or inhuman treatment (including in relation to the author), right to liberty and security of persons, respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, recognition as a person before the law, and right to an effective remedy (including in relation to the author).

Recommendations:

The State party must provide the author with an effective remedy, including by: (a) conducting a thorough and effective investigation into the disappearance of Mohamed Mehalli; (b) providing the author with detailed information about the results of its investigation; (c) releasing Mohamed Mehalli immediately if he is still being detained incommunicado; (d) in the event that Mohamed Mehalli is deceased, handing over his remains to his family; (e) prosecuting, trying and punishing those responsible for the violations committed; (f) providing adequate compensation to the author and her family for the violations suffered, and to Mohamed Mehalli, if he is still alive; (g) carrying out a prompt and effective investigation into the allegations of torture of the author, her sisters and her brothers Bedrane and Abderrahmane, prosecuting and punishing the perpetrators, and providing the victims with adequate compensation, including for their illegal detention in this context; and (h) carrying out a prompt and effective investigation into the exact circumstances of the death of the author’s brother, Atik, with a view to the prosecution and punishment of those responsible. 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 prevent similar violations in the future.

Implemented by the Algerian authorities?: No