{"id":3047,"date":"2025-07-05T19:31:59","date_gmt":"2025-07-05T18:31:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cosyfop.ovh\/?p=3047"},"modified":"2025-07-05T19:32:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-05T18:32:11","slug":"%d8%b9%d9%84%d9%8a-%d9%85%d8%b9%d9%85%d8%b1%d9%8a-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%86%d9%82%d8%a7%d8%a8%d9%8a-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ac%d8%b2%d8%a7%d8%a6%d8%b1%d9%8a-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b0%d9%8a-%d8%a3%d8%b6%d8%a7%d8%a1%d8%aa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cosyfop.ovh\/en\/%d8%b9%d9%84%d9%8a-%d9%85%d8%b9%d9%85%d8%b1%d9%8a-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%86%d9%82%d8%a7%d8%a8%d9%8a-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ac%d8%b2%d8%a7%d8%a6%d8%b1%d9%8a-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b0%d9%8a-%d8%a3%d8%b6%d8%a7%d8%a1%d8%aa\/","title":{"rendered":"Ali Maamri: The Algerian Trade Unionist Whose Case Brought International Attention in the ILO's Freedom of Association Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

An independent trade unionist caught in the crossfire<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In its latest report (No. 411), the ILO\u2019s Committee on Freedom of Association highlighted the ongoing repression of trade union activity in Algeria, with particular focus on the case of Ali Maamri \u2014 a prominent leader within the independent confederation COSYFOP and a member of its Human Rights Defense Committee in the Oum El Bouaghi region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to submissions sent by the complainant organization to the Committee on 7 and 9 April 2025, Ali Maamri was subjected to arbitrary arrest on 19 March 2025 by plainclothes security officers, without the presentation of a warrant. He was taken to a security facility in the province of Constantine, where he was held incommunicado for 120 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Torture and terrorism charges<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

During the initial days of his detention, Maamri informed his lawyer\u2014during their first meeting on 26 March\u2014that he had been subjected to physical and psychological torture, as well as verbal abuse. He was coerced into signing prewritten statements containing forced confessions linking him to individuals listed as terrorists and accusing him of attempting to establish a human rights defense committee. Investigators described this initiative as an attempt to form a \u201cterrorist organization\u201d aimed at overthrowing the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 27 March, Maamri was brought before the public prosecutor without prior notice to his lawyer. He was formally charged under Articles 87 bis, 87 bis 1, 87 bis 4, and 87 bis 5 of the Penal Code \u2014 provisions related to terrorism \u2014 in addition to Articles 34 and 39 of the Law on the Protection of Classified Information and Documents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public comment by President Raouf Mellal on the case<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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What is described in this ILO report can only be characterized as a blend of tragedy and farce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can any legal or political mind justify charging a well-known trade unionist with terrorism and attempting to overthrow the government \u2014 simply for trying to establish a human rights committee within a legally recognized union?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Has the mere act of founding an independent trade union or a human rights committee become a threat to the state?
Is Algeria\u2019s political system so fragile that it perceives every peaceful initiative as an existential threat?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These practices not only harm unionists, but also cause official institutions to lose whatever credibility they have left in the eyes of national and international public opinion. Unless this trend is urgently corrected, Algeria is steadily moving toward the effective abolition of the right to organize independently, despite its international obligations.<\/p>\n\u2014 Mellal Raouf<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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The ILO\u2019s Committee on Freedom of Association did not issue a specific recommendation on his case\u2026 but it did consider the situation urgent.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Despite the gravity of the facts, the ILO\u2019s Committee on Freedom of Association did not issue an individual recommendation concerning Ali Maamri. However, it referenced his case explicitly in paragraph 146 of its report and listed it among those requiring an urgent response from the Algerian government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Committee expressed deep concern over the growing climate of repression targeting trade unionists, calling for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAn urgent response from the government regarding Maamri\u2019s case, and an investigation into whether these measures are being used as tools of trade union repression.<\/em>\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Committee indicated that such measures, when used against trade union leaders like Maamri, constitute a clear violation of ILO Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association, which Algeria has ratified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crushing Union Activism Through Criminalization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ali Maamri\u2019s case is not an isolated incident \u2014 it is part of a broader pattern of systematic practices targeting COSYFOP\u2019s leadership, aimed at:<\/p>\n\n\n\n