An Algerian senator close to ex-President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has been jailed on accusations of corruption.
A Supreme Court judge ordered Djamel Ould Abbes incarcerated in Algiers on Sunday over charges that include the squandering of public funds, illegally signing deals, and falsifying official documents when he was a government minister during Bouteflika’s first term,1999-2004, the official APS news agency reported.
Abbas, vice president of Algeria’s Senate, has not publicly commented on the accusations. He relinquished his parliamentary immunity amid growing political pressure over the case.
He is the latest of several high-profile figures arrested in an anti-corruption sweep since Bouteflika was pushed out of office in April by mass protests backed by Algeria’s army chief.
