Algeria: UN Experts Alarmed By Crackdown On Families Of Disappeared Persons And Civil Society

GENEVA (13 May 2026) – UN experts* today expressed serious concern about the alleged crackdown on civil society in Algeria, including the incommunicado detention, harassment and intimidation of relatives of victims of enforced disappearances engaged in the search for their loved ones and the pursuit of truth and justice.

“The families of forcibly disappeared persons have a right to the truth. Any obstruction of this deepens their suffering and creates a chilling effect on civil society as a whole,” the experts said.

They urged the Algerian authorities to immediately disclose the fate and whereabouts of Rachid Ben Nakhla, who was reportedly apprehended in April 2026, and to release him without delay. They also expressed alarm over the reported arbitrary detention, including incommunicado detention, of Hamza Tellaa, Samia Bekouche and Slimane Hamitouche, who were detained without a warrant before being released.

“When State officials refuse to admit someone is detained or deliberately conceal their fate or whereabouts, such acts constitute enforced disappearance, even if only for a short time,” the experts warned.

They noted that all the detainees are all relatives of forcibly disappeared persons and members of organisations linked to human rights activities aiming to clarify the fate and whereabouts of forcibly disappeared persons, notably within the Collectif des familles de disparu·e·s en Algérie (CFDA) and its local association, SOS Disparus.

On 16 March 2026, Algerian authorities foreclosed and sealed off the premises of SOS Disparus on the grounds of lack of prior authorisation. The experts regretted that such undue restrictions can effectively prevent families of forcibly disappeared persons from meeting, organising themselves and carrying out human rights activities addressing enforced disappearances.

The prohibition of enforced disappearance is absolute and peremptory under international law, giving rise to a nonderogable obligation to investigate such acts and to ensure those responsible are held accountable.

“Algeria has an obligation to protect the relatives of disappeared persons and human rights defenders from any form of reprisal, harassment or intimidation, while fully guaranteeing their rights to liberty, fair trial, freedom of association and peaceful assembly,” the experts said.

They called for full respect for due process and an end to restrictions and reprisals targeting members of CFDA and SOS Disparus. The experts requested that the closure of the association’s premises be lifted and that effective remedies, including access to justice, be made available to challenge the legality of these measures.

The experts are in contact with the Government of Algeria regarding these allegations.

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