The ICJ is deeply saddened by the assassination of Mr. Youssef Fathallah, the President of the Algerian League for Human Rights.
According to witnesses, around 9 a.m. on the morning of Saturday, 18 June 1994, two armed men shot Mr. Fathallah at the entrance of his office, in the Emir-Abdel-Kader area in the centre of Algiers. So far, no group has claimed responsibility for this assassination.
Mr. Fathallah, a 64 year-old, was a practising lawyer until three years ago when he became a notary public. Mr. Fathallah was a human rights activist and an outspoken critic of both governmental and non-governmental abuses of human rights. He was also twice elected as a member of the Algerian Bar Council. In 1991, he was elected as the President of the Algerian League for Human Rights. He was also a member of the commission of inquiry on the death of President Mohammed Boudiaf, who was assassinated on 29 June 1992.
This incident is but one in a series of acts of violence that have taken place in Algeria since 1991. The ICJ calls on all groups to respect, as a minimum, the right to life. We also call on the Government of Algeria to thoroughly investigate this assassination and to bring the perpetrators to justice, and to guarantee the protection of human rights activists in Algeria.
