Algeria: Abdelkrim Azizi, tortured in his own house

Khaoukha Marouf v. Algeria at the United Nations Human Rights Committee

At the end of January 2009, the Advocacy Center – TRIAL (ACT) submitted an individual communication to the United Nations Human Rights Committee in the name of Khaoukha Marouf on behalf of her husband and her son, Abdelkrim Azizi and Abdessamad Azizi.

This is the eleventh application submitted against Algeria by ACT.

On the night of September 22, 1994, uniformed Algerian police officers invaded Khaoukha Marouf’s house. Once inside, they isolated her husband, Abdelkrim Azizi, in the family’s washroom and tortured him in plain sight of his wife and children. Afterwards, they took Abdelkrim and one of his sons, Abdessamad Azizi, with them. Furthermore, they brutally questioned two of the Azizi daughters, ransacked the house and pillaged the family’s store.

Despite Khaoukha Marouf’s numerous attempts to gain information regarding the fate of Abdelkrim and Abdessamad, none has been forthcoming from the authorities. It has been more than fourteen years since Mrs Marouf and her family have lost contact with Abdelkrim and Abdessamad.

The Human Rights Committee is asked to declare that Algeria violated fundamental human rights of Abdelkrim Azizi and Abdessamad Azizi as well as those of Khaoukha Marouf and her family and that they ought to be compensated for such breaches. The victims also ask that an investigation be undertaken into these alleged violations and that efforts be deployed to bring those responsible to justice.

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