Algerian prisoner in Iraq: “We call upon President Bouteflika to intervene to free us”

Algerian prisoner in Iraq, Ahmad Wabed, said the issue of their release is subject to “personal intervention of President Bouteflika” to the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, after which they will be released under a special amnesty.

Ahmed Wabed told Echorouk, from Syoussos detention in Kurdistan Region of Iraq, that Baghdad confirmed their possibility, that they would benefit from procedures of a special amnesty, as what have been done with the prisoners in Yemen, Kuwait and Tunisia, where they were released a few days ago under a special amnesty, after the intervention of the highest authorities in their own countries, and followed the step with the release of Jordanian prisoners after a period.

According to Ahmed Wabed, who is sentenced to 15 years for charges beyond the Iraqi border illegally, so the procedure of a special amnesty, that was decided by the Iraqi authorities of Arab prisoners, concerned prisoners who were arrested on charges of illegal crossing of the borders without other charges, especially terrorism, which means the possibility of releasing eight Algerian prisoners out of 13, if the Iraqi prime ministry received a request from President Bouteflika.

Ahmed Wabed called upon the Algerian authorities to avoid delving into the issue of bilateral agreements, for the fact that the Iraqi parliament is the authority which decide about the issue, and it is likely that it will reject this demand, because of the interactions between the political parties which form the Iraqi parliament.

Wabed expressed his fear that the Algerian prisoners, if they will be released, will face the fate of Ramis Shihab Ali, who was released last year after spending 10 years in prison, but he was arrested once entering Algeria and placed in El Harrach prison, even before he enters his family’s home, “If one of the released is suspected, then the authorities must take precautionary measures against them, as happened with former Guantanamo prisoners”.