A French court has accused a top Algerian diplomat of complicity in the 1987 killing of a dissident in Paris, prompting sharp words from Algeria's government yesterday.Ali Mecili, a lawyer active in Algeria's human rights movement, was killed by three gunshots in the foyer of his Paris apartment, and colleagues at the time accused the Algerian government of involvement. This August, more than 20 years after the killing, Algerian diplomat Mohamed Ziane Hasseni was arrested at an airport in the French port city of Marseille, based on an international arrest warrant issued by a French judge.
A Paris court confirmed Tuesday that preliminary charges have been filed against Hasseni, the chief of protocol at Algeria's Foreign Ministry. Hasseni is no longer in custody but he is under judicial supervision and barred from leaving France.
The next day, Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci paid an urgent visit to France to express Algeria's "disapproval" and "deep preoccupation" over the charges. Algeria's foreign minister pressed his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner to make sure French authorities "take all necessary measures to settle this issue rapidly," the Algerian Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued to The Associated Press.
| They could shoot Hasseni tomorrow ... |
The French Foreign Ministry confirmed Wednesday's meeting but would not comment on what was said.