Product Code Database
Zakaria "Zaki" Hannache (; born 1987) is an Algerian human rights activist who rose to prominence in 2019 due to his documentation of human rights abuses by the Algerian government against members of the Hirak movement. In 2022, after being charged with multiple offences including undermining state security, Hannache Asylum seeker in Tunisia, before settling in Canada in 2023, where he continues his activism in exile.
Hannache had not taken part in the initial marches, but subsequently joined an ad hoc monitoring group that collected, verified, and documented information pertaining to the arrests of people taking part in the Hirak protests. Utilising Facebook and online messaging, Hannache also publicly advocated for the rights and releases of detained activists, and became a trusted source for their families and lawyers, often disseminating information to international groups and organisations including the United Nations.
Between 18 February and 24 February, Hannache was interviewed by the police without having legal representation. On 24 February, Hannache appeared before an investigative judge at the Sidi M'Hamed Court in Algiers, where he was charged with "disseminating false information", "praising terrorism", "receiving funds from an institution inside or outside of the country", and "undermining state security"; Hannache was placed into pre-trial detention. Evidence used against Hannache included his reporting on by imprisoned activists, which the government stated was false; an online interview an exiled YouTuber, , who had been described as a terrorist by the government; and prize money he had received as part of a human rights award he was given in 2021.
Hannache's arrest occurred at the same time as the arrest of another prominent activist, Faleh Hammoudi from the Tlemcen office of the Algerian League for the Defence of Human Rights, who had been arrested two days after Hannache, and who similarly had been taken into custody and had his home searched and phone seized. Within 24 hours of Hannache's arrest, a petition signed by 15 organisations and 130 Algerian personalities was released, calling for Hannache's immediate release. Mustapha Bouchachi, the former president of the Algerian League for the Defence of Human Rights, described Hannache as "an essential vehicle for documenting human rights violations".
On 31 March, Hannache was provisionally released from custody on bail. In March 2023, Hannache was convicted in absentia and was sentenced to three years imprisonment. The court subsequently issued an Interpol notice for his immediate arrest.
On 9 November, he received summons for a court hearing at the Sidi M'Hamed Court on 13 November; the following day, Hannache applied for asylum, with the UN Refugee Agency formally recognising him as a refugee. A joint statement by 55 human rights organisations, including the Algerian League for the Defence of Human Rights, Amnesty International, Front Line Defenders, and the Tunisian Human Rights League, called on the Tunisian government to protect Hannache's right to safety, stating that his forced return to Algeria would set a "dangerous precedent" for human rights. At the same time, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders expressed their "serious concerns" for Hannache's charges, stating they appeared to be linked to his human rights activism.
On 19 December 2023, Hannache moved to Canada, which had agreed to resettle him.
|
|
