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Algeria: 6 jailed for attacks on teachers

November 8, 2017 at 12:40 pm

Five students and a security guard have been sentenced to between 12 and 18 months in prison by a court in Bir Mourad Rais in a case of the aggression against teachers in the Algiers 3 University earlier this year.

In February, teachers from the Faculty of Political Science and Information in the Algiers 3 University were targeted by a number of students which included interrupting the National Council of Higher Education Teachers (CNES)’s meetings and physically assaulting teachers.

“We were between professors debating issues relating to our job, we suspected nothing, things quickly deteriorated when this group of criminals landed in the room,” one of the teachers explained.

Read: Algerian Professor beaten unconscious by university students

Teachers have openly accused Rector Rabah Cheriet of involvement in the aggression and have since held regular strikes to protest the “barbaric acts”. The cases of aggression were linked to a case of falsification of the results of the doctoral study competition in “European Studies” in which the director was implicated.

After being postponed, the verdict against the assailants was delivered yesterday by the administrative court of Bir Mourad Rais.

According to the representative of the faculty of political science, three students were sentenced to 18 months in prison in absentia, while the other two were sentenced to one year in prison each.

A security officer was also charged in the case and given a suspended one year prison sentence.

Teachers have also reportedly filed a case to the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research for administrative sanctions against the students.

One of the teachers explained: “It’s a fourth-degree fault that involves the immediate dismissal of the student, so the university has to make some arrangements.”