Enforced Disappearances of Adel and Tarek Kerouane in 1994 and of Mohamed Kerouane in 1996
In January 2012 TRIAL submitted an individual communication to the United Nations Human Rights Committee on behalf of Mrs Kamela Allioua and Mrs. Fatima Zohra Kerouane. They are acting for their grand-children and brothers Mr. Adel, Tarek and Mohamed Kerouane, who were arrested respectively on 12 April 1994, on 20 May 1994 and on 22 February 1996 in Constantine by Algerian security forces and have been reported missing ever since. These incidents have occurred within the general context of the enforced disappearance of thousands of Algerian citizens at the hands of the army or security forces of the State between 1992 and 1998.
Mr. Adel Kerouane was arrested on 12 April 1994 by members of the Algerian security service in Constantine. He disappeared after having spent 15 days in the hospital to heal from a bullet wound in his leg. His family has received no information whatsoever since his transfer from the hospital to an unknown detention centre. 16 years-old Mr. Tarek Keroune was summoned on 20 May 1994 by agents of the criminal investigation department in Constantine. Last seen by his uncle at the moment of the house search manned by local policemen, Mr. Tarek Kerouane has been reported missing ever since. Finally Mr. Mohamed Kerouane, 15 years-old at that time, was arrested on 22 February 1996 by officers belonging to the police unit of Hamma, where according to a witness’ report, he was detained for a month before being transferred to an unknown detention center. His family has not been able to communicate with him any longer and his fate and whereabouts remain unknown since.
Plunged into a situation of distressful uncertainty, the Kerouane family, notably Mrs. Kamela Allioua and Mrs. Fatima Zohra Kerouane, relentlessly took steps to find out their beloved ones since the day of their arrest. Despite the countless requests to several local army barracks, police stations, as well as to the Office of the Prosecutor in Constantine, no investigation whatsoever has been opened on their disappearences. The administrative and governmental authorities have been similarly seized by the applicants, but to no avail.
Despite the numerous steps taken and the steady hope of the family members to be able to find out about their fate, so far no light has been shed concerning the disappearances of Mr. Adel, Tarek and Mohamed Kerouane.
The authors of the communication, Mrs. Kamela Allioua and Mrs. Fatime Zohra Kerouane, asks the Human Rights Committee to recognise that Algeria violated articles 2, 6, 7, 9, 10, 16 and 23 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rightsagainst Mr. Adel, Tarek and Mohamed Kerouane as well as article 24 against Mr. Tarek and Mohamed Kerouane. It is furthermore submitted that the situation gives rise to a violation of articles 2, 7 and 23 of the ICCPR against the authors of the communication as a result of the psychological suffering endured over the many years of uncertainty concerning the fate of their grand-sons and brothers.
The proceedings are currently underway before the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
General Context
The enforced disappearances of Mr. Adel, Tarek and Mohamed Kerouane took place within the context of the Algerian civil war. Coming out of a bloody national liberation war, Algeria was plunged into a fratricidal conflict leading to a disproportionate use of violence and massive violations of human rights. According to different information sources, 7,000 to 20,000 persons were arrested or abducted by all corps of Algerian security services and the militia armed by the government between 1992 and 1998, and are still missing.
To date, none of the victims’ families have received information about their relatives, no investigation has ever been opened as a result of the criminal complaint and the procedure they have completed, and, thought the persons who committed the crimes and the backers are known, none of them have ever been prosecuted or troubled. Furthermore, since the promulgation in February 2006 of the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation, the victims’ families are confronted with the legal prohibition of bringing their cases, such as that of Mr. Adel, Tarek and Mohamed Kerouane, before courts at the risk of being sanctioned by the Algerian criminal system because Algeria considers that taking these steps would be tantamount to “exploit and take advantage of the wounds of the national tragedy” and undermine the on-going national reconciliation process.
The decision
In October 2014, the Human Rights Committee communicated its decision (called “views” in the UN language).
The Committee held that Algeria violated Articles 6 § 1, 7, 9, 10 § 1, 16 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, taken in conjunction with Article 2 § 3 of the Covenant with regards to the victims.
The Committee also held that Algeria violated Article 7 of the ICCPR, taken in conjunction with Article 2 § 3, with regards to the victim’s sister and grandmother.
Moreover, the Committee held that Algeria violated Article 24 § 1 of the ICCPR with regards to the victims who as minors should have been given special protection.
The Committee requested Algeria “to conduct a deep and rigorous investigation into the disappearance of Adel, Trarek and Mohamed Kerouane”. Algeria is also requested to “provide the authors with detailed information concerning the results of its investigation”, “to free the victim immediately if they are still being secretly detained” or, “if they are deceased, to return their mortal remains to their family”. Moreover, the Committee insisted on Algeria’s obligation to “indict, try and punish those responsible for the violations committed” and to pay an appropriate compensation to the family of the victims for the violations committed.
Algeria is further requested to guarantee the effectiveness of the domestic justice system, especially with respect to victims of torture, extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearance and to take steps to avoid the recurrence of similar violations.
