Massinssa Lakehal's Trial Appeal

Massinissa Lakehal–A human rights advocate in Kabylia

Massinissa Lakehal, a human right activist who addressed his deep concerns to Amnesty International to raise awareness about human rights violations in Kabylia by the Algerian military regime, and the son of Ammer Lakhal, a staunch opponent of the Algerian authoritarian regime and a human rights advocate who is exiled in Canada.

Massinissa was arbitrarily kidnapped by the Algerian security forces 8 months ago, then detained in Algeria’s prison. In his first trial, on December 1st ,2024, on bogus charges and mock trial, he was sentenced to 5 years in prison and a fine of 500 million Algerian dinars.

Yesterday, in a trial appeal in Tizi Ouzou’s Courthouse, he saw his sentence curtailed to 3 years prison; however, the amount of his fine maintained the same.

Since 2021, over 500 Kabylians were arbitrarily imprisoned by a judiciary system obeying to the military's hierarchy orders.