ALGERIA: FORMER TERRORIST GROUP LEADER SENTENCED TO DEATH

former national Islamic Armed Group leader, Noureddine Boudiaf, was sentenced to death after three hours of deliberations at a criminal court in Algiers, Algeria. He was convicted of several criminal charges. He argued that he joined the terrorist groups unwillingly in 1993 under relentless pressures from the security services, because his brother was at that time a member of the banned Islamic party. He admitted using a small handgun, and said he was under Ammar and Djaffer Al Afghani’s orders till 1994. To a question whether he took part to subversive acts, he replied that all his prior revelations were made under duress and acknowledged most of the acts he didn’t commit. The attorney put to Noureddine that he had the opportunity to benefit from a mercy law passed in 1997, concord law 1999 and finally the reconciliation one in 2001, but he didn’t. Noureddine answered that he didn’t know about them since neither newspapers or radio were available. Answering the question related to the motives of the group, he said it was to establish an Islamic state.