Montréal–On June 17^th, Brigitte Bureau, an award-winning investigative reporter with Radio-Canada, revealed that Algeria is spying and intimidating Canadian citizens of Kabylians origins after a thorough investigation that lasted months.

This unprecedented news shows that the Algerian military regime has no limit in quelling its dissidents and exported its horrendous practices to the democratic countries in which freedom of speech and assembly are guaranteed by their Constitutions.

In fact, Algeria’s military junta has violated human rights in Kabylia by intensifying arbitrary arrests of Kabylia’s Self-determination Activists, torturing innocents Kabylians and increasing intimidation acts of their relatives in order to crack down on the MAK’s movement activists (MAK–French acronym for Kabylia Self-determination Movement).

To reach its goal, it has amended 87 bis article of penal code, which has established an overly broad definition of terrorism, to allow the persecution of peaceful activists and critical voices.

Subsequently, repression has reached a grim milestone in Kabylia. Thus, the Algerian terrorist State has arrested and detained over 500 activists, closed 34 churches, condemned 38 Kabylians to death sentence on bogus charges, denied fair trials to the detainees and engulfed Kabylia in a deadly fire, in which over 300 lives were lost, merely to accuse the MAK movement of terrorism. Also, it has exiled thousands of Kabylians.

However, the Algerian dictatorship regime didn’t content only to locally squelch activists, but also adventures to silence Kabylia’s activists abroad by resorting to blackmail. This intimidation strategy might work sometimes, but not all time– some staunch and determined activists are not easier to win. It is the case of Kamal Sehaki who was approached by an Algerian police officer who’s affiliated to the Algerian Consulate in Montreal, he proposed him to cease activities related to MAK movement, to provide names of young activists who have ties with the movement, and to break up ties with some people who are associated with Kabylia Self-determination Movement.

As a reward or compensation, by signing a promising document, Algeria’s military regime will allow him to visit his family in Kabylia. Regarding this offer, Mr. Sehaki wrote in his social media account, “I can’t sell my soul”.

Besides the outspoken Kamal Sehaki, several Canada’s government employees of Kabylian origins are subject to coercion, bullying and intimidation by the Algerian terrorist regime. According to Radio- Canada, those persons want to keep a low profile, they didn’t agree to be formally interviewed because they fear retaliation and reprisal against their relatives in Kabylia.

Indeed, threatening Kabylia’s Self-determination activists is not something new, or just common in Canada, it is also happening in France and the United States of America. This case was revealed and brought to daylight by Radio-Canada, because of the total independence of this media from politics or any other form of influence. In contrast, French media, namely Cnews, on October 2, 2022, cancelled in the last minutes a TV show “Face à Rioufol”, the interview of the President of Kabylia’s Provisional Government in exile which was announced by the media beforehand. This interference highlights a deep concern in terms of freedom of the press, even though France is a democratic State, in which freedom of speech and press are guaranteed by the French Constitution. Nonetheless, its media are still under control of politics when French interests are at stake.