Khalida Toumi To Be Brought Before The Financial, Economic Pole Of Sidi Mhamed Court Soon

The Judge of the Financial and Economic Pole at Algiers’ Sidi M’hamed Court will hear the former Minister of Culture, Khalida Toumi, soon, after hearing her only once by the investigating advisor at the Supreme Court since she was placed in temporary detention 10 months ago.

According to Echorouk sources, Khalida Toumi is charged with misdemeanours of mismanagement of 3 cultural events. The first relates to “Constantine, the Capital of Arab Culture, the second to the Islamic Cultural Festival, and the third is related to the demonstration of Tlemcen, the capital of Islamic Culture”.

During the first hearing, the investigating advisor directed of the Supreme Court listened to her for three charges which are, the abuse of power, squandering of public money and granting undue privileges.

In the details, the defence lawyer for the former Minister of Culture, Professor Boudjemaa Ghachir, told Echorouk that the file of his client, and after closing all the investigation rooms at the level of the Supreme Court, was referred to the financial and economic pole at the Sidi M’hamed court on September 10, but since then we have not received news about the progress of the investigation, as she has not yet been heard in the case”.

“Former Minister Khalida Toumi has been in temporary detention since November 2019, that is, since 10 months ago, which is the period that exceeds the permissible period in such cases, in which temporary detention should not exceed 8 months”, the lawyer added.

“We appealed before referring her file to a court of Sidi M’hamed at the level of the Supreme Court, however, the latter refused to release our client, and for this reason, the President of the Republic, the first judge in the country, wrote to us on August 29 and explained the details of the case”.

“The President of the Republic had lifted the criminalization on the act of management, except for acts related to bribery and money laundering, but my client was charged with acts related to management and not with the two cases of bribery and money laundering”.

It is known that the investigating advisor at the Supreme Court had ordered on November 4, 2019, to place the former Culture Minister, Khalida Toumi, in temporary detention in Algiers Harrache prison, after he charged her with misuse of the post, squandering public money and granting undue privileges.