(CALP/IFEX) – Sid Ahmed Semiane (SAS), a columnist from the daily “Le Matin”, was assaulted during the night of Thursday 18 October to Friday 19 October 2001 by Lotfi Nezzar, the son of retired general Khaled Nezzar. The attack on the “Le Matin” journalist was reportedly prompted by his writings about Lotfi Nezzar’s father, which […]
(CALP/IFEX) – Sid Ahmed Semiane (SAS), a columnist from the daily “Le Matin”, was assaulted during the night of Thursday 18 October to Friday 19 October 2001 by Lotfi Nezzar, the son of retired general Khaled Nezzar. The attack on the “Le Matin” journalist was reportedly prompted by his writings about Lotfi Nezzar’s father, which the son deemed to be insulting.
According to a “Le Matin” press release, the general’s son first assaulted the journalist inside a nightclub in the Algiers area. He then followed the journalist outside the club, where he again hit him repeatedly. The general’s son had previously threatened the journalist several times. In a letter to the daily “Le Soir d’Algérie” published on Saturday 20 October, Lotfi Nezzar explained that “the columnist Sid Ahmed Semiane was warned several times of having overstepped his role as a journalist, confusing humour with invectives.”
In the past, retired general Nezzar occupied several senior government positions, including minister of defence and member of the State High Council (Haut Conseil de l’État, HCE), the presidential body that was created after the cancellation of legislative elections and the resignation of elected president Chadli Bendjedid in January 1992.
Though he retired in late 1994, General Nezzar is a regular commentator in Algerian media outlets. He often gives his opinions on the difficult political issues of the day.