Algerian military court acquits ex-president’s brother

An Algerian military court on Saturday acquitted a brother of ousted president Abdelaziz Bouteflika from charges of “conspiring against the state and army authorities,” reports said.Also acquitted from the same charges were two former intelligence chiefs and a political party leader, the official news agency, APS reported.

Quoting the lawyer of the defendants,  the news agency said the Military Court of Blida pronounced acquittal judgment for the four people who were arrested in May 2019.

They were accused of holding secret meetings to conspire against the military and state authorities.

This was allegedly amid the massive popular protests that forced former president Bouteflika to step down in April 2019.

The military court had earlier in September 2019 sentenced them to 15 years in prison each.

However, the court later decided to retry them based on an appeal submitted by their attorneys. (Xinhua/NAN)

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