General Nezzar’s case: Swiss justice drops prosecution procedures

Algerie Patriotique website reported that Swiss justice dropped the case of Algeria’s former defence minister General Khaled Nezzar. He was prosecuted in 2011 upon a complaint lodged by a human rights organization and Algerian nationals, saying they were tortured in the 1990’s.

The website posted an article untitled ‘Swiss Prosecutor’s Office Drops the Case.’ The Federal Prosecutor issued the ordinance in accordance with Article 319 of the Swiss Penal Code. “It affirms that the federal justice minister ordered to drop the procedures due to the absence of any suspicion justifying the accusation.”

A Swiss human rights organization accused Nezzar of perpetrating crimes against humanity and torture as he was a senior official in 1992-1994.

According to lawyer Hassan Brahmi, “dropping procedures” legally means the “absence of evidences. Facts based on the complaint are legally unpunishable.”

“It also means the case can be reopened as long as there are evidences raising suspicion over the prosecuted person,” he added.

Nezzar’s judicial prosecution lasted about five years. He was arrested by the federal police in October 2011 as he was in Geneva for treatment.

The case came as the so-called the Arab Spring broke out in many Arab countries. Some presidents were toppled. Others were jailed and some others run away. Those events gave Nezzar’s case another dimension.

Since then, Nezzar has been living in Algiers and Geneva. 

In an interview with Echorouk, he thanked Algerian authorities for their support.