Extraterritorial Persecution of Kabyle People Escalates

Montreal resident Ammar Lakehal's worst fears have come true: his son has been sentenced to three years of imprisonment in Algeria, a sentence which his father, a Montreal resident, says is down to Ammar Lakehal’s MAK membership. Detained since his arrest on 27 July 2024, Massinissa Lakehal appeared in court on 1 December 2024, and was found guilty of a series of crimes including the vaguely worded charges of undermining national unity, inciting hatred and promoting terrorism. A trip to Canada to visit his father in 2019 and messages exchanged between the two on social networks were used as evidence against him.

Members of the Kabyle diaspora in Canada have long been subject to intimidation and spying by the Algerian government - in June 2024, CBC reported that members of Algeria's Kabyle minority say they're living in fear, and have asked the Trudeau government to intervene.