Case of Tibhirine Monks “hangs over” visit of French Justice Minister to Algeria

The French Minister of Justice, Mrs Christiane Taubira, has started a two-day official visit to Algeria at the invitation of her Algerian counterpart, Tayeb Louh.

This is the second visit to Algeria of a French Minister of Justice after that of Michele Alliot-Marie, more than five years ago.

During her visit, Mrs Taubira is slated to be received by the President of the Republic Abdellaziz Bouteflika and the Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal. She will also confer with several cabinet members.

The visit will culminate in the signing of an agreement for upgrading judicial cooperation between the two countries.

This visit has a special character after the Paris terror attacks last November which claimed numerous innocent lives, touching off a worldwide outcry and condemnation.

In this sense, Mrs Taubira is scheduled to take part in a working meeting with judges on judicial means likely to bolster the fight against the terrorism scourge while giving a lecture afterwards at the Diplomatic Institute of International Relations in Algiers on the theme “Youth and de-radicalization” .

Among the issues to be discussed by the two sides, stand the two conventions on judicial cooperation and extradition between France and Algeria, which will be updated on the occasion.

To this effect, the Minister of Justice Tayeb Louh, said: “The cooperation in the judicial and institutional areas is expected to grow further between France and Algeria because there is a strong political will in this line. This cooperation will lead to the old judicial agreements between the two countries being updated so as to tally with present times. “

Meanwhile, it is still unclear whether the outstanding file of the assassinated monks of Tibhirine, a thorny issue that France has refused to seal for almost twenty years and which has slightly strained Algerian-French relations until the coming to the French presidency of Francois Hollande in 2012, will be discussed by the two justice ministers.

It should be noted that a month before the Tibhirine monks died, the former terrorist Group (GIA) claimed to have kidnapped them, asking for a ransom from the French government and threatening to decapitate the hostages. Later on, the GIA terror group claimed responsibility for the Monks’ heinous murders.