Rachid Mesli
Encyclopedia
Rachid Mesli is an Algeria
n human rights lawyer and activist, now living in exile in Geneva
. He is a founding member of Justitia Universalis and Rachad
.
In 1991, he became part of the defense lawyer team defending the case of the arrested leaders of the Islamic Salvation Front
, Abbassi Madani
and Ali Belhadj
. On 31 July 1996, he was abducted at gunpoint from his car by four assailants who turned out to be members of the security forces. He was then detained secretly for over a week, repeatedly beaten and threatened with death, and eventually charged with belonging to a terrorist group. In July 1997, he was acquitted of this charge and instead convicted of having "encouraged terrorism", a charge that had not been brought against him in the trial and against which he had no opportunity to defend himself. Amnesty International
said the trial had "clearly violated international standards for fair trial". In December 1998, his conviction was quashed by the Supreme Court; he was kept in prison while awaiting retrial, contrary to Algerian law. In June 1999, he was found guilty of belonging to a terrorist group and sentenced to three years' imprisonment. He was released in July 1999, one and a half weeks before his sentence was to end, as part of a presidential pardon. In 2000, fearing for his and his family's safety, he left the country to live in Geneva
.
Since moving to Geneva, he has continued his human rights activism. In 2001, he co-founded Justitia Universalis, a non-governmental organisation dedicated to fighting impunity. In the same year, he submitted the cases of Abbassi Madani
and Ali Belhadj
, the detained leaders of the banned Islamic Salvation Front
, to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in Geneva, which ruled that both were being detained arbitrarily, since their 1992 trial had failed to comply with international standards. This verdict greatly displeased the Algerian government, which subsequently charged Rachid Mesli with belonging to an "armed terrorist group" operating abroad, issuing an unenforceable arrest warrant. According to Amnesty International
, several Algerians (Tahar Facouli, Brahim Ladada, and Abdelkrim Khider) have been arrested and tortured mainly for being in contact with him. In 2007, he co-founded Rachad
, an organisation dedicated to overthrowing the Algerian government through mass nonviolent resistance.
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
n human rights lawyer and activist, now living in exile in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
. He is a founding member of Justitia Universalis and Rachad
Rachad
Rachad is an Algerian political movement. Its stated objective is to "break with political practices in place since independence" and "establish a state in which the rule of law, democratic principles and good governance prevail" through non-violent means...
.
In 1991, he became part of the defense lawyer team defending the case of the arrested leaders of the Islamic Salvation Front
Islamic Salvation Front
The Islamic Salvation Front is an outlawed Islamist political party in Algeria.-Goals:...
, Abbassi Madani
Abbassi Madani
Dr. Abbassi Madani was born in 1931 at Diyar Ben Aissa, Sidi Okba . He was the President of the Islamic Salvation Front in Algeria...
and Ali Belhadj
Ali Belhadj
Ali Belhadj was the Vice-President of the Islamic Salvation Front .Born in 1956 in Tunis to parents of Mauritanian origin from the wilaya of Adrar in Algeria, Belhadj became a teacher of Arabic and an Islamist activist in the 1970s...
. On 31 July 1996, he was abducted at gunpoint from his car by four assailants who turned out to be members of the security forces. He was then detained secretly for over a week, repeatedly beaten and threatened with death, and eventually charged with belonging to a terrorist group. In July 1997, he was acquitted of this charge and instead convicted of having "encouraged terrorism", a charge that had not been brought against him in the trial and against which he had no opportunity to defend himself. Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
said the trial had "clearly violated international standards for fair trial". In December 1998, his conviction was quashed by the Supreme Court; he was kept in prison while awaiting retrial, contrary to Algerian law. In June 1999, he was found guilty of belonging to a terrorist group and sentenced to three years' imprisonment. He was released in July 1999, one and a half weeks before his sentence was to end, as part of a presidential pardon. In 2000, fearing for his and his family's safety, he left the country to live in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
.
Since moving to Geneva, he has continued his human rights activism. In 2001, he co-founded Justitia Universalis, a non-governmental organisation dedicated to fighting impunity. In the same year, he submitted the cases of Abbassi Madani
Abbassi Madani
Dr. Abbassi Madani was born in 1931 at Diyar Ben Aissa, Sidi Okba . He was the President of the Islamic Salvation Front in Algeria...
and Ali Belhadj
Ali Belhadj
Ali Belhadj was the Vice-President of the Islamic Salvation Front .Born in 1956 in Tunis to parents of Mauritanian origin from the wilaya of Adrar in Algeria, Belhadj became a teacher of Arabic and an Islamist activist in the 1970s...
, the detained leaders of the banned Islamic Salvation Front
Islamic Salvation Front
The Islamic Salvation Front is an outlawed Islamist political party in Algeria.-Goals:...
, to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in Geneva, which ruled that both were being detained arbitrarily, since their 1992 trial had failed to comply with international standards. This verdict greatly displeased the Algerian government, which subsequently charged Rachid Mesli with belonging to an "armed terrorist group" operating abroad, issuing an unenforceable arrest warrant. According to Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, several Algerians (Tahar Facouli, Brahim Ladada, and Abdelkrim Khider) have been arrested and tortured mainly for being in contact with him. In 2007, he co-founded Rachad
Rachad
Rachad is an Algerian political movement. Its stated objective is to "break with political practices in place since independence" and "establish a state in which the rule of law, democratic principles and good governance prevail" through non-violent means...
, an organisation dedicated to overthrowing the Algerian government through mass nonviolent resistance.