BY MB

(Koléa, Algiers)– Ghilas Benkerrou –a Kabylian student imprisoned for almost nine months without trial–has started a hunger strike to protest against his ongoing arbitrary detention. In fact, this action was initiated by several Kabylian political prisoners who are incarcerated in the Algerian colonial prison of Koléa.

 Arrested in July 2024 in Tichy alongside Khoudir Bouchelaghem, Rafik Belayel, Tahar Achiche, Lounes Ghougad, Salim Bouaaza and lawyer Sofiane Ouali, Ghilas Benkerrou suffers– like his companions– of the unjustified and arbitrarily repression of the Algerian colonial regime.

Their prolonged detention without trial illustrates the systematic policy of the Algerian brutal regime to stifle and criminalize any Kabylian activist and dissident who are outspoken voices against the occupation of Kabylia.

This hunger strike is indeed a part of a horrendous context in which human rights violations are intensifying in Kabylia, with arbitrary arrests, intimidation and increased control of Algerian colonial forces. 

By denying detainees a fair trial and prolonging their suffering, the Algerian criminal regime confirms, once again, its desire to stifle any legitimate challenge. 

The Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylia (MAK) strongly condemns this repression and holds the Algerian colonial regime responsible for the health of the Kabylians prisoners. He calls on the Kabylians and the international community to denounce these abuses and to demand the immediate release of all Kabylians political detainees.