Algerian media outlets have reported the arrest of a high-ranking Algerian official’s son along with security personnel on charges of “espionage for a foreign country and leaking sensitive data that threatens Algerian national security.”
According to “El Nahar,” an Algerian newspaper, the public prosecutor at the Criminal Appeals Court in Algiers has requested the death penalty for the son of the former high-ranking official, identified only as W.B., and a 20-year imprisonment for two Algerian airline flight attendants.
The accusations follow the discovery of suspicious meetings between the son of the former official and individuals linked to Israeli intelligence, involving “serious intelligence breaches,” as reported by the newspaper.
Algerian security had previously dismantled an international network in 2017, suspected of operating for Israeli intelligence in Ghardaïa, south of Algiers, where advanced spying equipment was found.
The story has been covered by at least three media outlets, including “El Nahar” TV channel, “El Bilad” newspaper, and the French-speaking website “Tout Sur l’Algérie,” highlighting that “up to 10 individuals were detained, with the nature of the seized devices raising significant suspicions of spying for Israel.”
“El Bilad” reported that initial investigations involving suspects of Libyan, Ethiopian, Malian, Liberian, Nigerian, Ghanaian, and Kenyan nationalities revealed their operations on behalf of Israel.
The newspaper also noted the security forces had seized advanced communication and filming devices planned for use in documenting sensitive security institutions.
Additionally, “El Bilad” disclosed that the security forces had confiscated incendiary documents and flyers promoting sedition, CDs containing texts in Hebrew, and video clips of protests occurring in Algeria, along with contacts of Algerians living both domestically and abroad, aimed at their recruitment.
The arrests came following reports of a foreign group distributing documents inciting violence and hatred.
Meanwhile, “El Nahar El Jadid” website reported that the Ghardaïa court had ordered their temporary detention on charges of espionage and disturbing public order, pending their trial.
