Algeria protests detention, indictment of consular agent in France

This handout photograph released by French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs shows France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot (L) being received by Algeria's President Abdelmajid Tebboune in Algiers on April 6, 2025. (AFP)
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  • Algeria鈥檚 foreign ministry said it had hauled in French Ambassador Stephane Romatet to 鈥渆xpress its strong protest鈥�
  • It said the indicted consular officer 鈥渨as arrested in public and then taken into custody without notification through the diplomatic channels鈥�

ALGIERS: Algeria protested strongly Saturday after French prosecutors indicted one of its consular officials on suspicion of involvement in the April 2024 abduction of an Algerian influencer in a Paris suburb.
The indictment comes at a delicate time in relations between Algeria and its former colonial power, with Algiers claiming the move was aimed at scuppering recent attempts to repair ties.
Three men, one of whom works at an Algerian consulate in France, were indicted Friday in Paris on suspicion of involvement in the abduction of 41-year-old Amir Boukhors.
Boukhors, known as 鈥淎mir DZ,鈥� is an opponent of the Algerian government and has more than a million followers on TikTok.
The three were indicted on grounds including abduction, arbitrary detention and illegal confinement, in connection with a terrorist enterprise, according to France鈥檚 National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor鈥檚 Office.
They were later detained in custody.
Algeria鈥檚 foreign ministry said it had hauled in French Ambassador Stephane Romatet to 鈥渆xpress its strong protest.鈥�
It said the indicted consular officer 鈥渨as arrested in public and then taken into custody without notification through the diplomatic channels.鈥�
It denounced a 鈥渇ar-fetched argument鈥� based 鈥渙n the sole fact that the accused consular officer鈥檚 mobile phone was allegedly located around the home鈥� of Boukhors.
The Algerian influencer has been in France since 2016 and was granted political asylum in 2023. He was abducted in April 2024 and released the following day, according to his lawyer.
Algiers is demanding the influencer鈥檚 return to face trial, having issued nine international arrest warrants against him, accusing him of fraud and terror offenses.

The Algerian foreign ministry demanded the immediate release of its consular officer.
It said the 鈥渦nprecedented鈥� turn of events was 鈥渘o coincidence,鈥� and was 鈥渁imed at torpedoing the process of reviving bilateral relations鈥� agreed by French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in a March 31 telephone call.
Relations between Paris and Algiers came under strain last year when France recognized Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara, where Algeria has long backed the pro-independence Polisario Front.
Algeria recalled its ambassador from Paris in protest of the policy shift it has viewed as favoring its North African rival.
Relations soured further in November when Algeria arrested French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal on national security charges, after he told a French far-right media outlet that Morocco鈥檚 territory was truncated in favor of Algeria during French colonial rule.
Sansal has since been sentenced to five years in jail.
Tensions eased somewhat thanks to the recent phone call between Macron and Tebboune, who voiced their willingness to repair relations.
And French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot expressed hope last Sunday for a 鈥渘ew phase鈥� in relations with Algeria, during a visit aimed at mending the diplomatic rift.