Algeria : Military court to settle drowned boat case

Algiers' court yesterday resorted to transfer the dossier of the two convicts in the case of the so called “drowned boat, Bechar” from the criminal to military court on the basis that the two indicted belong to the military institution.

 Algiers’ court yesterday resorted to transfer the dossier of the two convicts in the case of the so called “drowned boat, Bechar” from the criminal to military court on the basis that the two indicted belong to the military institution.

The decision sparked anger among the victims’ relatives who filed a civil suit hoping to reach a happy after years of waiting. In this respect, the desperate families asked “Echourouk” to intervene before the relevant authorities in order to ” claim damages for the loses incurred”.

For her part, the families’ lawyer, Bechar Yasmina, has declared that the case has been settled in 2005 and the court sentenced the 24 convicts to 10 years in prison. But the lawyer doesn’t explain the fact that the case, in which two military officers were, involved was pending for three years before transferring it to the military court.

To recall the, the vessel “Bechar” drowned in the port of Algiers in November 2004 following very bad conditions at that time, but investigations revealed the precarious state of the boat was the main cause of the drowning. The captain has launched several SOS to the deputy head of the national center for surveillance and rescue operations as well as the head of the regional coast guard group, but these later didn’t respond.