Over six years after the abduction and murder of Hervé Gourdel in Algeria, 14 people now face charges. Suspected jihadist, Abdelmalek Hamzaoui, is the only suspect known to be in custody and he appeared in court on Thursday. The murder seems to have stirred-up anxiety and bad memories relating to the Algerian Civil War.
Gourdel, aged 55, was kidnapped in September 2014 whilst exploring a new climbing site in Djurdjura National Park in the Kabylie region. Three days after he was kidnapped, Gourdel’s beheading was filmed and published by the militant group Jund al-Khilafa.
Hamzaoui, who faces charges of kidnapping, torture, joining an armed terrorist group and premeditated murder, could receive the death penalty if found guilty. He arrived at court in a wheelchair (having undergone a hip surgery) prompting the judge to postpone the start of the trial.
The murder happened following the Islamic State (IS) group’s takeover of northern Iraq and Syria in 2014. Jund al-Khilafa (meaning “Soldiers of the Caliphate”) demanded that France stop air strikes against the IS, murdering Gourdel when the French Government refused. Following an extensive manhunt, Gourdel’s body was found in a booby-trapped grave three months after he was killed.
Gourdel’s five Algerian guides also face charges. Initially kidnapped as well, they were released hours later and are being accused of failing to inform authorities about his abduction soon enough. This could carry a prison sentence of up to five years.
Six years ago, the killing caused shock in Algeria, triggering angst over the decade-long civil war between Islamists and the army during the 1990s. In the conflict, 200 000 people died and according to Yasmine Ryan (reporting for Aljazeera in 2010), an estimated 15 000 people “forcibly disappeared”.