Algeria ex-PM Ouyahia appears in court
ALGIERS - Algerian former Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia appeared in a court in Algiers yesterday to be questioned over alleged corruption involving the partner in Algeria of Germany’s Volkswagen, state TV said.
This is the second time Ouyahia has been questioned since the Supreme Court last week ordered his detention as part of another investigation into alleged corruption.
Meanwhile, former Finance minister Karim Djoudi appeared before the Supreme Court yesterday to face questions about corruption accusations, state television reported.
He has not been charged but joins a series of senior figures associated with former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to face investigations since protests broke out this year demanding the departure of the ruling elite.
The channel later said Mourad Eulmi, the head of the Algerian family-owned firm SOVAC which runs an assembly plant with Germany’s Volkswagen AG, was questioned in another court in Algiers about corruption accusations.
Eulmi was arrested by police last week. The TV reports did not give any more details about Djoudi and Eulmi’s cases and there was no immediate statement from the men or any lawyer representing them.
The hearings came days after the Supreme Court ordered the detention of ex- prime ministers Ouyahia and Abdelmalek Sellal, as well as former Trade minister Amara Benyounes for “dissipation of public funds and awarding illegal privileges.”
The army is now the main player in Algerian politics after Bouteflika stepped down two months ago and its chief of staff Ahmed Gaed Salah has urged the judiciary to speed up the prosecution of people suspected of involvement in corruption cases.
In Khartoum, ousted Sudanese leader Omar al- Bashir will appear in court this week to face charges of corruption and possessing foreign currency, the country's acting prosecutor general told reporters on Saturday.
The announcement came more than two months after the military overthrew Bashir on April 11 following months of nationwide protests against his 30-year iron-fisted rule.
Bashir "will appear in court this week following charges of corruption and possessing foreign currency," Al-Waleed Sayyed Ahmed said, without specifying the day.
He added that the investigation launched against Bashir for the charges had been completed.