Former Prime Minister of Bouteflika jailed for corruption in Algeria

Nureddine Bedoui, a former prime minister of the late former Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, is in prison after an Algerian court overturned a decision to keep him under judicial supervision with the withdrawal of his passport over a corruption case.

After being placed under judicial supervision by the court of the municipality of Sidi-M’hamed last Sunday, a decision overturned by the Algiers court, the former prime minister has been imprisoned pending trial, thus joining two of his predecessors who are behind bars, the daily Tout sur l’Algérie has reported.

Nureddine, who was appointed as prime minister in March 2019, is being prosecuted for awarding “over-the-counter contracts to businessmen without respecting the rules” during his tenure as governor in the city of Constantine, as reported by local media.

The other two imprisoned former ministers, Ahmed Uyahia and Abdelmalek Sellal, were sentenced on charges of corruption and abuse of authority — “punishable acts in relation to the conclusion of public tenders and contracts contrary to the regulations and laws in force” — to 15 years and 12 years in prison, respectively.

Numerous businessmen and others close to Bouteflika have been arrested since his departure from power. Justice has assured that it works independently and without orders, although these processes have not satisfied the demands of the demonstrators who provoked the fall of the former president.