Lawyers interpret leaks of British investigation on Tiguentourine attack

Lawyers criticized leaks of information from British justice regarding an enquiry about an attack on a gas field in Tiguentourine (southern Algeria). It implicitly held Algeria responsible for the attack consequences.

Preliminary results of the investigation opened by a court in West Sussex raised many questions as Algerian justice did not finish its enquiry.

Political sciences professor and lawyer Amer Rekhila says British justice indirectly held Algeria responsible for the killing of its nationals in the attack is a mean to put pressure. The UK aims at politicizing the issue and hitting Algeria’s initiative to solve the Libyan crisis politically.

“The UK wants to prove to the world that its first position about the Tiguentourine attack and reject of military intervention was right,” he told Echorouk.

He added that most of security interventions cause victims.

“If the national forces did not intervene, foreign countries would have intervened including the UK under the pretext of defending its nationals. This would be a good opportunity to enter Algeria,” he said.

He believes that the Algerian army foiled foreign plans to set up military bases in the desert. “They did not like it.”

According to Ibrahim Bahlouli, a lawyer at the Higher Court, the leaks of news hit the Algerian State’s sovereignty.

“British news reports is indirect campaign against Algeria to hit its counterterrorism pioneer role,” he added.

Earlier in January 2013, seven British nationals were killed in a terrorist attack on a gas complex in Tiguentourine.