Algeria: Requirements and procedure for reporting an incident to the police, gendarmerie or prosecutor; requirements and procedure for obtaining a copy of a report written by the police, gendarmerie or prosecutor; recourse mechanisms with respect to a complaint lodged against the police, gendarmerie or prosecutor

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Reporting an Incident

A document updated in 2016 on the website of the Bureau of Consular Affairs, U.S. Department of State, indicates that in Algeria local authorities are responsible for investigating and prosecuting crimes (US 25 Feb. 2016). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, an Algerian court lawyer licensed to practice in the Supreme Court indicates that any victim of a crime, offence, or contravention may file a verbal complaint with the police and the gendarmerie, or a written complaint with the prosecutor who has territorial authority (lawyer 12 Apr. 2017). The same source reports that the complaint must be filed by the victim or his or her representative (ibid.). In this regard, the lawyer refers to Articles 17 and 36 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Code de procédure pénale) which states the following:

[translation]

Art. 17 - (Amended) - Judicial police officers … receive complaints and denunciations; they collect the evidence and conduct preliminary investigations.

…

Art. 36 - (Amended) - The Public Prosecutor:

…

- receives the reports, complaints and denunciations, decides what action to take, and ensures that the competent investigative or trial entities are informed and seized of these matters, or orders their dismissal by a decision that remains revocable, which is to be relayed to the plaintiff and/or the victim, if known, in a timely manner … (Algeria 1966)

Article 37 of the Code of Criminal Procedure states the following:

[translation]

Art. 37 - (Amended) - The public prosecutor responsible for the area where the offence took place, or where one of the accused who is believed to have participated in the offence is domiciled, or the place of arrest of one of the accused, even if the arrest was made for another cause, has territorial jurisdiction. (ibid.)

According to a document entitled The Rights of Victims of Crime in Algeria (Les droits des victimes d'infractions en Algérie), posted in 2013 on the website of the Consulate General of France in Algiers, a victim's complaint concerning a crime in Algeria must be drafted in Arabic, [translation] "the national and official language" (France 4 Nov. 2013). The same source explains that [translation] "judicial practice does not allow the complaint to be filed in the victim's mother tongue" (ibid.). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted within the time constraints of this Response.

1.1 National Gendarmerie Online Pre-Complaint System

The information in the following paragraph is from the National Gendarmerie website.

The National Gendarmerie website has an online service for processing [translation] "pre-complaints" and "online information" (Algeria n.d.a). Citizens can file a pre-complaint online and make an appointment with the gendarmerie unit that has territorial jurisdiction (Algeria n.d.a). According to the terms of use for the pre-complaint service, the person wishing to file a complaint must report to the unit within 30 days to confirm the pre-complaint, or it will be automatically cancelled (Algeria n.d.b). The National Gendarmerie online service also allows citizens to send [translation] "information or to report any type of crime in order to maintain order and public safety" (Algeria n.d.a).

Some sources indicate that citizens may remain anonymous and are not required to identify themselves when submitting information online through the National Gendarmerie website (TSA 6 Apr. 2015; Algeria 360 4 Nov. 2015). According to an article published by Dziri, an online Algerian magazine, Colonel Guir Badaoui provided the following explanation of the online pre-complaint system during a press conference held at the National Gendarmerie headquarters:

[translation]

When the complainant accesses the pre-complaint messaging area, he or she must complete the identification form by filling out their first and last names, telephone number, email address, home address, and date of birth in order to file a complaint against a person or party. The complainant must also report the facts of the incident, for example home robbery, and provide the exact location of the crime. Once this has been done, the complainant clicks on the small box "Send" and the message is sent directly to the National Gendarmerie Group that reports to the wilaya [administrative division] where the complainant lives …"

Once all the necessary steps have been taken to file a complaint, the complainant must report to the Gendarmerie unit closest to his or her home to officially file the complaint (standard complaint). He or she will give the reasons for the complaint to the Gendarmerie officers for the purposes of the investigation. (Dziri n.d.)

The same source states that an appointment with the National Gendarmerie unit is scheduled and sent to the email or cell phone of any citizen who files a complaint (Dziri n.d.). According to an article published in 2015 by Tout sur l'Algérie (TSA), an online Algerian newspaper, the report is signed and the complaint validated at the meeting with the territorial unit that has jurisdiction (TSA 6 Apr. 2015).

An article published in 2015 in Le Quotidien d'Oran, a French-language Algerian newspaper, reports that the online pre-complaint system is for citizens [translation] "in any region of Algeria" (Le Quotidien d'Oran n.d.). In an article published in 2015 by Africa Top Success, an African news website, we read that the pre-complaint website "is not accessible from abroad" (Africa Top Success 8 Apr. 2015).

2. Obtaining a Copy of a Report

The lawyer explained that a victim or an accused can request and obtain, through his or her lawyer, a copy of an investigation report prepared by the police, the gendarmerie or the attorney general once the file has been sent to court (lawyer 12 Apr. 2017). The same source referred to article 18 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which states the following:

[translation]

Art. 18 - Judicial police officers are required to write reports about their investigations and to inform the public prosecutor without delay of crimes and offences of which they have knowledge.

When their investigations are complete, they must immediately forward to the public prosecutor the original and a certified copy of their reports and any related documents as well as the objects seized … (Algeria 1966)

According to the lawyer, a copy of the report is given by the court to the lawyer assigned to the victim or the accused (lawyer 12 Apr. 2017).

The lawyer explained that a victim can also request, through his or her attorney, a copy of the initial complaint lodged, once the file has been sent to court (ibid.). The same source stated that the court gives this copy to the lawyer assigned to the victim (ibid.). According to the document The Rights of Victims of Crime in Algeria prepared by the Consulate General of France in Algiers, [translation] "[t]he victim cannot obtain a copy of the file while the police investigation is ongoing. The civil party can review his or her file during court proceedings with his or her lawyer" (France 4 Nov. 2013).

3. Recourse Mechanisms with Respect to a Complaint Lodged Against the Police

The information in the paragraph below is from the website of the National Security Directorate (Direction générale de la sûreté nationale).

The mission of the Office of the Inspector General of National Security (Inspection générale de la sûreté nationale) is [translation] "[t]o conduct investigations of serious acts of misconduct committed by senior officials of the National Security Service as instructed by the Director General of National Security" (Algeria n.d.c). The office of the regional inspector is responsible for [translation] "[l]aunching inspections it deems to be appropriate in light of the facts or information received by their units" and "[c]arrying out investigations or counter-investigations following serious incidents brought to their attention and tarnishing the institution's reputation" (Algeria n.d.).

The lawyer confirms the following with respect to recourse available when a complaint is lodged against the police, the gendarmerie or the public prosecutor:

[translation]

Members of the police and gendarmerie are public officials and, as such, individuals who believe they have been mistreated by these officers have the right to lodge a complaint against them with the public prosecutor and/or with their superiors.

Any person who believes that they have been subject to abuse of authority by the public prosecutor has the right to file a complaint against him or her with the Attorney General, Minister of Justice and the Inspector General of the Ministry of Justice. (lawyer 12 Apr. 2017)

According to the report Freedom in the World 2016, published by Freedom House, [US English version] "[t]he judiciary is susceptible to government pressure" (Freedom House 2016). Similarly, according to the U.S. Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2016, the judiciary was not [US English version] "impartial" and was often "subject to influence and corruption" (US 3 Mar. 2017, 10).

Country Reports 2014 indicates that, in Algeria, claims filed by women for rape and sexual abuse [US English version] "continued to face judicial obstacles, and many women did not report incidents of rape because of societal pressures and bureaucratic problems in securing convictions" (US 3 June 2015, 25). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to Country Reports 2016, the family of a woman forced by police officers to undress in front of them in a police station filed a complaint with the local tribunal (US 3 Mar. 2017, 3). Similarly, an article published in 2016 by TSA states that a complaint was filed with the El Harrach prosecutor's office against police officers concerning the arrest of human rights advocates and community activists (TSA 6 Feb. 2016). Country Reports 2014 reports that a woman who was raped by two police officers inside a police station, went to another police station with her male friend to file a complaint (US 3 June 2015, 3). The same source states that the authorities collected DNA confirming the rape and arrested the two officers (ibid.). An article published in 2016 by Liberté, a French-language Algerian newspaper (Liberté n.d.), reported that a complaint was lodged [translation] "against the public prosecutor of Ghardaïa" (Liberté 6 Dec. 2016). The same source reports that [translation] "when questioned about the fact that the public prosecutor cannot initiate proceedings against the Attorney General, the lawyer [in charge of filing the complaint] … indicated that the public prosecutor is required to forward the complaint to a court with jurisdiction" (ibid.).

In reporting on [US English version] "[t]orture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment," Country Reports 2016 indicates that the National Security Directorate stated that it did not receive any reports "of abuse or misconduct from the public during the year [2016]" (US 3 Mar. 2017, 3). According to the same source, [US English version] "the [Algerian] government rarely provided information on actions taken against officials accused of wrongdoing" (ibid., 1). On the issue of [US English version] "police and security apparatus" (ibid., 5), the same report states:

Impunity remained a problem. The law provides mechanisms to investigate abuses and corruption, but the government did not always provide public information on disciplinary or legal action against police, military, or other security force personnel. (ibid., 5-6).

Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Country Reports 2016 reports that, in Algeria, [US English version] "[i]ndividuals may appeal adverse decisions to international human rights bodies, but their decisions would not have the force of law" (ibid., 11). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to a 2016 Amnesty International report [AI English version] "[n]either Algeria's current constitution, nor proposed amendments guarantee the right to an effective remedy for those whose human rights have been violated" (AI 1 Feb. 2016, 6). The same sources calls on the Algerian authorities [AI English version] "to repeal existing provisions in the legislation which grant immunity to security forces and state armed militias for serious human rights violations and criminalize public criticism of the conduct of the security forces" (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Africa Top Success. 8 April 2015. "Algérie : porter plainte via Internet, c'est désormais possible!" [Accessed 12 Apr. 2017]

Algeria 360. 4 November 2015. "Six mois après le lancement du site des pré-plaintes de la Gendarmerie : 1.843 affaires criminelles traitées via Internet." [Accessed 4 Apr. 2017]

Algeria. 1966 (2007 version). Code de procédure pénale. Promulgated by order N° 66-155 of 8 June 1966, as amended and supplemented. [Accessed 30 Mar. 2017]

Algeria. N.d.a. Gendarmerie nationale. "Pré-plaintes & Renseignements en ligne." [Accessed 29 Mar. 2017]

Algeria. N.d.b. Gendarmerie nationale. "Pré-plaintes en ligne." [Accessed 29 Mar. 2017]

Algeria. N.d.c. Direction générale de la sûreté nationale. "L'inspection générale de la sûreté nationale." [Accessed 29 Mar. 2017]

Algeria. N.d.d. Direction générale de la sûreté nationale. "L'inspection régionale." [Accessed 29 Mar. 2017]

Amnesty International (AI). 1 February 2016. Algérie : la constitution doit inclure des garanties plus solides en matière de droits humains. [Accessed 5 Apr. 2017]

Dziri. N.d. Sofiane Yousfi. "Dépôt de plainte via Internet." [Accessed 4 Apr. 2017]

France. 4 November 2013. Drafted by the liaison magistrate at the Embassy of France in Algiers. "Les droits des victimes d'infractions en Algérie." [Accessed 29 Mar. 2017]

Freedom House. 2016. "Algeria." Freedom in the World 2016. [Accessed 5 Apr. 2017]

Lawyer, Algeria. 12 April 2017. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Liberté. 6 December 2016. Mohamed Mouloudj. "Fekhar dépose une plainte contre le procureur général de Ghardaïa." [Accessed 5 Apr. 2017]

Liberté. N.d. "À propos du journal." [Accessed 7 Apr. 2017]

Le Quotidien d'Oran. N.d. Z. Mehdaoui. "Gendarmerie nationale : le dépôt de plainte via Internet." [Accessed 12 Apr. 2017]

Tout sur l'Algérie (TSA). 6 February 2016. "La LADDH va porter plainte contre des agents de police." [Accessed 5 Apr. 2017]

Tout sur l'Algérie (TSA). 6 April 2015. "La gendarmerie lance un service de pré-plainte en ligne." [Accessed 6 Apr. 2017]

United States (US). 3 March 2017. Department of State. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2016. [Accessed 30 Mar. 2017]

United States (US). 25 February 2016. Bureau of Consular Affairs, Department of State. "Algeria." [Accessed 10 Apr. 2017]

United States (US). 3 June 2015. Department of State. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014. [Accessed 30 Mar. 2017]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Abu Nawas Algérie; Algeria - embassies in Ottawa and France, Barreau d'Alger, Conseil national des droits de l'homme, Consulate General in Montréal, Direction générale de la sûreté nationale, Gendarmerie nationale, Ministère de la justice; Amnesty International - section office in Algiers; Centre d'études maghrébines en Algérie; lawyers in Algeria; Ligue algérienne pour la défense des droits de l'homme; Maison des droits de l'homme et du citoyen de Tizi Ouzou.

Internet sites, including: Algeria - Barreau d'Alge, Conseil national des droits de l'homme, Direction générale de la sûreté nationale, Gendarmerie nationale; Factiva; International Federation for Human Rights; Human Rights Watch; Transparency International.