Algerian trade unionists under pressure: Call for solidarity with Ali Mammeri

For years now, independent trade union activity in Algeria has increasingly come under strain as authorities step up legal and judicial pressure on trade unions. Workers activists report that anti-terrorism and state security laws are being applied broadly to criminalize peaceful union organizing, communications and online commentary. These legal tools are now widely seen by rights groups as mechanisms to intimidate, silence or deter independent organizing beyond state-sanctioned structures.

A recent example of this repression is the ongoing case of Ali Mammeri, a civil servant, human rights defender and leader in the Algerian labour movement. Mammeri is the President and founder of the Syndicat National des Fonctionnaires du secteur de la culture et des arts (SNFC), affiliated with the Confédération syndicale des forces productives (COSYFOP).

On 19 March 2025, Mammeri was arrested at his workplace in Oum El Bouaghi without a warrant and held incommunicado for several days. During this period, his family and lawyers received no information about his whereabouts. According to multiple reports, he was subjected to physical abuse while in police custody and coerced into making confessions.

In October 2025, a criminal court sentenced Mammeri to 15 years in prison on charges including "glorification of terrorist acts" and "dissemination of classified information"-charges widely criticized as baseless and tied to his peaceful trade union and human rights activities. The IUF and Public Services International (PSI), as well as international non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty International, signed a first joint statement calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Ali Mammeri.

After an appeal, the sentence was reduced to 10 years' imprisonment on 1 February 2026, in a verdict that continues to spark international condemnation.

The treatment of Ali Mammeri has become emblematic of the wider repression of unionists in Algeria.

The IUF and PSI with other organizations from civil society call for the release of Ali Mammeri through a presidential pardon. Please click here to add your voice to the Labourstart campaign for workers' rights in Algeria.