Ghardaia – The Amazigh political activist, Dr. Kamel Eddine Fekhar, 54, who was jailed for opposing the Algerian regime has died after spending 50 days on hunger strike, his family says.
Dr. Fekhar was arrested near his workplace on 31 March 2019. On the same day, trade unionist and minority rights defender Hadj Ibrahim Aouf was also arrested. The human rights defenders were detained for attacking public institutions, namely the military, Parliament and judiciary, based on a complaint made by the general prosecutor of the city of Ghardaia in the west of Algeria.
He began his hunger strike in March 2019 in protest of his unjust imprisonment and his prison conditions. As his health deteriorated Dr. Fekhar was taken to hospital in Blida city where conditions are known to be harsh. His family and his lawyer, Salah Debouz, had been informed by authorities of his death. No other details were immediately available.
Dr. Kamel Eddine Fekhar, has been an activist for the autonomy of the region of M’zab, an Amazigh minority in northern Algerian Sahara, and a strong critic of Algerian authorities in the way they have been dealing with recurrent tensions in the city of Ghardaia in the region of M’zab, between Malekite Arabs and Ibadite Amazigh.[ads1]
