An Algerian criminal court jailed two former prime ministers and four other ex-government officials for corruption, shortly before a presidential vote that's fueled the anger of protesters demanding the purging of the old regime.
Abdelmalek Sellal, who twice held the premiership under ousted President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was sentenced to 12 years, while another previous holder of the post, Ahmed Ouyahia, got 15 years, state TV reported Tuesday. Three ex-industry ministers received between five and 10 years, while a former tourism minister was jailed for five.
Several other businessmen were sentenced, including Bouteflika ally Ali Hadad, who got seven years.
The judgments come before a Dec. 12 presidential ballot in which five candidates are vying for the North African OPEC nation's top office. The race, however, has been met with jeers and frustration by protesters who have called for a complete shakeup in the ruling regime. The demonstrators say the five candidates are all political insiders and offer no real hope of reform.
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Ferhat Ait Ali, an analyst and former Finance Ministry official, described the verdicts as “political,” coming in the shadow of Thursday's elections, and said the short length of the trials seemed insufficient for the complexity of the cases.
Algeria's powerful military chief has pressed for the presidential vote, saying it's the only way the country can begin to tackle its economic challenges and restore normalcy after Bouteflika's resignation in April following months of protests.
To contact the reporter on this story: Salah Slimani in Algiers at sslimani2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tarek El-Tablawy at teltablawy@bloomberg.net, Michael Gunn
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