Abdelaziz Bouteflika | intelNews.org

Deposed president’s brother and two former spy chiefs arrested in Algeria

May 6, 2019 by Joseph Fitsanakis Leave a comment

Mohamed Mediène The younger brother of Algeria’s deposed president Abdelaziz Bouteflika has been arrested along with two former directors of the country’s spy services. All three men are known as some of the North African country’s most powerful figures. Saïd Bouteflika, 61, served as senior advisor to his brother for over a decade. In 2013, when President Bouteflika suffered a debilitating stroke, Saïd became what many see as Algeria’s de facto leader and its primary decision-maker. He had not been seen in public since February 22, when mass demonstrations broke out across the country just hours after President Bouteflika, 82, announced that he would run for the highest office in the land for a record fifth time. The massive protests forced Bouteflika, who had held the presidency for two decades, to resign on April 2.

But the demonstrators have continued to protest weekly. They demand that Bouteflika’s inner circle be removed from power. Saïd, who was widely believed to be his brother’s most likely successor to the presidency, topped the protesters’ list. He was reportedly arrested on Saturday afternoon by officers of the Intelligence and Security Department, known as DRS. Another group of DRS officers reportedly arrested General Mohamed “Toufik” Mediène (pictured above, in brown suit), who served as director of the DRS form 1990 until his firing in 2015. His successor, DRS Director General Athmane Tartag, was also arrested by a third team of DRS officers on Saturday, according to reports from Algiers. All three men were delivered to the armed forces and have remained in custody since.

Saturday’s arrests were significant, given the influence of these once all-powerful men. At the moment of his arrest, General Tartag was the head of the country’s feared spy agency, while General Mediène was once known as the world’s longest-serving intelligence director. All three are accused of conspiracy against the popular movement that prompted the end of the Bouteflika regime last month. Their accusers are the leaders of the country’s military, and are led by Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaed Salah, the Army’s chief of staff. General Salah has vowed to launch an anti-graft campaign and rid the country of corruption before surrendering power back to civilian rule. A nationwide election has been scheduled for July 4 of this year.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 06 May 2019 | Permalink

Filed under A specialized intelligence website written by experts, since 2008 Tagged with Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Algeria, Athmane Tartag, corruption, Mohamed Mediène, News, Said Bouteflika

‘End of an era’ as feared Algerian spy chief is removed from office

September 16, 2015 by Joseph Fitsanakis Leave a comment

In an unprecedented development described by local media as the “end of an era”, the longtime director of Algeria’s main intelligence agency, and one of the country’s most powerful figures, has been removed from office. Until last Sunday, General Mohamed Mediène was described as the world’s longest-serving intelligence chief, having led Algeria’s Department of Intelligence and Security since 1990. Known by its initials, DRS, the organization grew rapidly in size and power during the Algerian Civil War of the 1990s. After an electoral victory by the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) was quashed in a military-led coup, General Mediène took advantage of the country’s fragile security situation to strengthen the DRS and his own political influence. He became a staunch ally of Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and created what some have called “a state within a state”.

The general cultivated an aura of mystique, going to great pains to avoid publicity. His name did not appear in print until 2014, while a photograph of him was published for the first time in an Algerian paper on Sunday. According to The New York Times, Mediène’s many critics claim that he was able to hang on to power for so long by systematically “blackmailing politicians and other public figures” throughout his tenure. But the General’s removal from DRS was announced unexpectedly on Sunday, ostensibly in fulfilment of President Bouteflika’s stated goal of imposing more civilian control of the Algerian military. Mediène’s sudden removal follows the arrest in August of a number of other senior intelligence figures, including General Abdelkader Ait-Ouarabi, who served as DRS’s senior counterterrorism official for two decades under Mediène.

Many believe that the removal of DRS’ senior leadership was sparked by a widening rift between Bouteflika and Mediène. Last year, when Bouteflika announced that he would run for a fourth term, Mediène let it be known that he did not approve of the president’s decision. The ailing leader, who is 78, suffered a severe stroke in 2013, and has avoided public appearances since that time, giving rise to constant rumors about possible successors, or even machinations for coups by members of the armed forces. The Reuters news agency reported on Sunday that General Mediène has been replaced by General Athmane Tartag, who has served as President Bouteflika’s security advisor for several years.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 16 September 2015 | Permalink