Detained since July 25th in a Barcelona detention center, Ayoub Aïssiou could be extradited to Algeria. This comes amid concerns about the motives behind this procedure and the risks he would face if handed over to Algerian authorities. Interviews publishes its statement from its support committee.
Here is the full press release:
Spain will not sacrifice its dignity for a few barrels of oil.
Since July 25, 2026, Ayoub Aïssiou has been detained in a Barcelona detention center, awaiting extradition proceedings to Algeria. Yet, this man has committed no crime. He is neither a terrorist nor a criminal, but a political target of the Algerian regime. His only fault? Daring to challenge, through his media activism and support for the democratic opposition, a system that crushes all dissenting voices.
A peaceful opponent, victim of a political settling of scores
A resident of France since 2019 and traveling freely between France and Spain, Ayoub Aïssiou has never been harassed until now. The numerous international arrest warrants issued against him—like those targeting dozens of other Algerian opposition figures abroad—have been systematically rejected by Interpol, precisely because of their highly political nature. Yet, in a cynical maneuver, the Algerian regime has exploited bilateral agreements with Spain to secure his arrest, taking advantage of an opportunistic diplomatic thaw.
This strategy is part of a continued policy of systematic repression. How can we forget that notoriously corrupt generals, such as Habib Chentouf and Ghali Belksir – respectively the former head of the First Military Region in Spain and the former commander of the National Gendarmerie in France – enjoy total impunity despite military convictions for desertion, embezzlement of public funds, tax evasion, and money laundering? Or that Lotfi Nezzar, son of former Defense Minister Khaled Nezzar (himself sentenced in absentia to twenty years in prison for economic crimes), had his convictions for illegal currency transfers and money laundering simply erased after his return to Algeria in December 2020?
The Algerian justice system, which Algerians ironically call "telephone justice," is merely a tool at the service of the powerful. It cracks down on opponents while turning a blind eye to the crimes of men in uniform and their associates.
Ayoub Aïssiou, scapegoat of a regime on its last legs
The accusations against Ayoub Aïssiou are entirely without legal basis. They stem from political revenge orchestrated by the Tebboune-Chengriha duo, who have never forgiven this journalist for his support, through his television channel, Algeria One, of Abdelmadjid Tebboune's rival candidate, the army's official candidate, during the December 2019 presidential election. The arbitrary closure of this channel and the seizure of its equipment were not enough: the regime, thirsting for revenge, has gone so far as to demand his extradition, even though he has never broken any law.
True to his democratic convictions, Ayoub Aïssiou reiterated his commitment during the September 2024 presidential election by supporting Saïda Neghza, the most determined opposition figure to the incumbent president. Today, she is serving a four-year prison sentence, along with three other candidates imprisoned for daring to challenge the regime.
Spain faces a historic choice: dignity or complicity
That authoritarian regimes, known for their systematic human rights violations, are now appealing to Spain—a respected state governed by the rule of law—to further their nefarious purposes should outrage every democratic conscience. The Algerian government, which imprisons, tortures, and stifles fundamental freedoms, is indifferent to the disrepute it would bring upon Spain if it were to prevail.
Once Ayoub Aïssiou is handed over, he will suffer the same fate as Guermit Bounouira, extradited by Turkey in July 2020 and currently detained in inhumane conditions after being sentenced to death (a sentence later commuted to life imprisonment). And what has become of former gendarme Mohamed Abdallah, extradited on August 22, 2021, after enduring the most inhumane treatment? Or Mohamed Benhalima, extradited from Spain in March 2022, whose torture, sexual violence, prolonged solitary confinement, and repeated beatings have been documented by human rights organizations Amnesty International and Al-Karama?
Extraditing Ayoub Aïssiou is to condemn him to a slow death in the name of oil that Algeria threatens to deprive Europe of. It is to sell out the honor of a country that prides itself on its values, for a few drops of black gold. It is to inflict needless and cruel suffering on his family—a broken mother, a devastated father, a distraught wife, and young children who will grow up without understanding why their father was taken from them.
A solemn appeal to reason and justice
We appeal to the wisdom of Catalan justice, the foresight of the Spanish people, and the historical memory of Spain, which has, in the past, resisted the pressures of even the darkest regimes. Algeria is not a reliable partner, much less an ally that respects human rights. Its regime, repeatedly denounced by the European Parliament as a "dictatorship of thugs," deserves no leniency.
Spain has a choice: to side with the perpetrators or the victims. We ask it to choose dignity.
The Ayoub Aïssiou Support Committee
