Court of Appeal Considers the Release of Saida Neghza For Health Reasons

The Algiers Court of Appeal will consider on Tuesday, January 6, a request for the release of Saida Neghza, the former head of the General Confederation of Algerian Enterprises, Saida Neghza, who has been detained in the Koléa prison for nearly seven months, further deteriorating her health.

The request for her release will be discussed this Tuesday in a public hearing before the Tenth Criminal Chamber of the Algiers Court of Appeal, the last court to rule on the case. This is based on Article 208 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which stipulates that the accused or their lawyer may request release from the investigating judge at any time.

In further detail, Saida Neghza’s defence will argue before the court regarding her pretrial detention in another case. She faces charges of negligence in handling hazardous waste in unauthorised locations, constructing buildings and facilities on state-owned land without legal authorisation, and engaging in a classified activity without a license. These offences are stipulated and penalised under Article 64 of the Law on Waste Management, Control, and Removal; Article 102 of the Law on Environmental Protection within the Framework of Sustainable Development; Article 17, Paragraph 2; and Article 26 of the Law on the Protection and Preservation of State Lands. It was for these charges that the investigating judge ordered her temporary detention.

The release request includes a complete and detailed medical file on Saida Neghza’s deteriorating health since her incarceration. She suffers from several serious illnesses requiring specialised and urgent medical care that is unavailable within the prison, as evidenced by all the attached medical reports from the doctors. Her inability to attend her regular treatment appointments has exacerbated her condition, especially since she has been hospitalised for a month awaiting surgery. This has placed her life in direct danger, necessitating her release on medical grounds, according to the release request.

On July 9, 2025, the Tenth Criminal Chamber of the Algiers Court of Appeal sentenced Saida Neghza, Belkacem Sahli, and Abdelhakim Hamadi to four years in prison and a fine of DZD 1 million each for buying the signatures of elected officials in exchange for their endorsements to run in the 2024 presidential elections.

The court also sentenced the vice president of the Algerian Confederation of Enterprises, identified as “B. Mohamed,” and “F. Bilal,” to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of DZD 1 million each. The remaining defendants received sentences ranging from 3 and 2 years and 18 months’ imprisonment, along with fines ranging from DZD 20,000 to DZD 200,000 to DZD 1 million.

The court ordered Saida Neghza, Belkacem Sahli, and Abdelhakim Hamadi to jointly pay DZD 1 million to the public treasury. Additionally, the court ordered each defendant convicted in the case to pay DZD 200,000 as compensation to the treasury, pending the return of the appeal to the Supreme Court.