ALGIERS, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Algeria has been witnessing a wide-scale anti-corruption operation targeting former and current senior officials, following popular protests urging for crucial changes.
These demands have been endorsed by Army Chief of Staff Ahmed Gaid Salah who urged magistrates and judges to act bravely while launching anti-corruption probes against politicians and businessmen who embezzled public funds.
On Thursday, examining magistrate at the Supreme Court placed under custody former Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sallal and former Commerce Minister Amara Benyounes over charges of abuse and misuse of power, squandering of public funds, and violation of public procurement procedures to illegally sign contracts and provide unjustified advantages to businessmen.
Such charges have already been pended against former Prime Minister Ahmad Ouyahia who had been placed under custody on Wednesday.
This anti-corruption operation has also targeted prominent businessmen close to the entourage of former President Bouteflika, notably Ali Haddad, Issad Rebrab, the Kouninef brothers, Mahieddine Tahkout, and Mourad Oulmi, who all had been sent to provisional prisons over corruption-linked charges.
In fact, Algerian justice has accelerated the pace of prosecutions, given that a group of 12 former senior government officials have been summoned for trial.
Meanwhile, General Prosecutor at the Supreme Court requested the Council of the Nation (the upper house of parliament) to launch the process of lifting parliamentary immunity for current senators, Boudjemaa Talai and Amar Ghoul, ahead of their trial at the Supreme Court.
Local media noted that current senators and former ministers, Djamel Ould Abbes and Said Berkat, had already renounced their parliamentary immunity ahead of being heard by the Supreme Court, as their names also appeared in the list concerned by the anti-corruption trial process.
Algerian political analyst Mohamed Si Bachir said that this anti-corruption operation would likely to pave the way for drawing up a political resolution to the crisis hitting the country, saying the ongoing protest has been essentially sparked due to spread of corruption and dirty money in the political class.
"The imprisonment of those former senior officials is a clear evidence of some agreement between the popular movement and the army chief of staff over the necessity to clear up the country from corruption as a pillar prelude to deep reform process," Bachir assumed.
He further predicted that there would be "dialogue based on a negotiated roadmap that would lead to the organization of presidential elections and then a joint national conference to develop a vision for new Algeria."
For his part, political analyst Radouene Bouhidel said that "placing under custody a senior official ... is an unprecedented event in the history of Algeria," adding the anti-corruption operation is "a gesture of good faith" by the authority to the protests, and a message to all officials that they are not untouchable when it comes to accountability whatever the position and rank they hold.
Bouhidel added that after such moves, "justice would be able to freely play its role," assuming this anti-corruption operation is likely to restore the public confidence in justice, and push the protesters to national dialogue to solve the crisis.
