Bouguerra Soltani

Bouguerra Soltani held several ministerial positions in the Algerian government from 1998 to 2009. He is suspected of having ordered, authorized and incited public officials to commit acts of torture.

When Mr Soltani was invited to come to Switzerland as a speaker in October 2009, TRIAL International filed a criminal report against him, immediately followed by a criminal complaint by a victim supported by TRIAL. The victim stated that he had been arrested in June 2005, tortured and then imprisoned because of his opposition to Mr Soltani. The victim appeared before the investigating judge of the Canton of Fribourg, who decided that Mr Soltani would be heard as soon as he arrived on Fribourg territory.

That very same day, the investigating judge received a confidential report on this case, claiming that there were serious doubts about the veracity of the accusations. Having been inexplicably informed about the complaint filed against him, Mr Soltani quickly fled Switzerland. Thus, he was neither heard nor arrested during his stay in Switzerland, and the serious allegations of torture committed against the complainant were not followed up. The case was therefore closed.