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Three years in prison for “violating Islamic precepts and Muslim rituals” were pronounced in Algiers on Thursday against Saïd Djabelkhir, a well-known academic, Islamic specialist. He is particularly criticized for writing that the sacrifice of the sheep existed before Islam and for criticizing the girls’ early marriage in some Muslim communities.
He recalled on Facebook that certain Muslim practices, such as the sacrifice of sheep, date back to pre-Islamic times. Saïd Djabelkhir faces three years in prison under Article 144-2 bis of the Algerian Penal Code, which punishes attacks on religion.
Coming from an individual and not from the prosecution, the complaint should have been rejected on the form, according to one of the defense lawyers. Master Wahab Hamidi is concerned about this condemnation of a well-known specialist in Islam: “He is someone who is very famous, he is invited to the media, including the public. It is requested by foreign media, either from the Middle East or from the West. Because there is a whole debate between the Reformers and the Salafists. But you do not go to court because the person has expressed an opposite opinion. ”
The lawyers are very surprised by the severity of the punishment. They condemn an attack on freedom of expression that reveals the current hardening of the Algerian authorities. According to the lawyer, this court decision is part of a certain context, namely the repression of the authorities in the Hirak movement. “This instrumentalisation of justice, as we know, no one will tell us that justice in Algeria is independent. So the hardening within this resistance from the regime will not give in to any desire for change, “confirms Me Wahab Hamidi.
The academic will appeal this week and say he is ready to go for disposal if necessary.
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