Interim Report - Report No 58, 1962

Case No 156 (France) - Complaint date: 29-NOV-56 - Closed

1. 140. When the Committee, which had already submitted certain conclusions to the Governing Body in paragraphs 209 to 293 of its 27th Report, in paragraphs 250 to 274 of its 28th Report and in its 42nd Report, resumed its examination of this case at its meeting on 17 and 18 February 1960, it submitted to the Governing Body, in paragraph 98 of its 44th Report, its definitive conclusions with regard to certain allegations relating to the detention and death of Mr. Aïssat Idir, General Secretary of the General Union of Algerian Workers (U.G.T.A), and recommended the Governing Body to request the Government to furnish further information on a number of other allegations relating to the detention of Mr. Ali Yayia Madjid, Mr. Rabah Djermane and other trade unionists, while the Committee itself requested information in connection with a number of other allegations.
2. 141. At its 26th Session (November 1960) the Committee further examined the allegations outstanding in relation to the detention of Mr. Ali Yayia Madjid, Mr. Rabah Djermane and other trade unionists, to withdrawal of representative status from certain trade union organisations, to the seizure and banning of trade union publications and to restrictions on the activities of trade unionists.
3. 142. On these allegations the Committee submitted to the Governing Body the recommendations contained in paragraph 71 of the Committee's 51st Report, which are cited fully in the following paragraphs and which were approved by the Governing Body at its 147th Session (November 1960). Subsequently, the Government addressed to the Office certain communications dated 20 and 23 February, 24 May, 24 October and 9 November 1961, which are referred to more fully in the consideration of the specific allegations below.
4. 143. The Committee still has before it the allegations enumerated in paragraph 141 above; these are the subject of the present report.

Allegations relating to the Detention of Trade Unionists

1. 144. In this connection it is to be observed that, because of the time elapsing between the two series of complaints in this case, the Committee has dealt in two stages with separate sets of allegations which in fact are part of the same history and, indeed, overlap to a certain extent because certain of the detainees concerned in the earlier allegations-those arising out of the complaints of the W.F.T.U dated 29 November 1956 and of the I.C.F.T.U dated 16 February and 23 March 1957-are also involved in the later allegations arising out of the complaints submitted by these two organisations in 1959. In the interests of clarity it would seem desirable to co-ordinate these allegations in the present report, but without reproducing the whole of the lengthy analysis contained in earlier reports.
2. 145. The earlier series of complaints were dealt with especially in the 27th Report.
3. 146. In the complaint of the W.F.T.U dated 29 November 1956 the following 44 trade union officers and militants were alleged to have been interned in concentration camps in Algeria: Messrs. Georges Gallinari, Secretary, P.T.T Union; Norbert Voirin, member of P.T.T. Regional Executive; Marcel Toru, member of P.T.T. Executive; Youcef Briki, Abdallah Demene and Hocine Messad, all three secretaries of the Constantine Federation of Trade Unions; Azzedine Mazri, Treasurer, E.G.A. Trade Union; Mostefa Mazri, Trade Union of Commercial Employees; Arezki Brahimi, leader of the Trade Union of Commercial Employees; Saci Louahem, General Secretary, Philippeville Dockers' Union; Kouidir Abdelkrim, Secretary, Bougie Local Union; Mohamed Bessaoud, leader of the Biskra Railway Workers' Union; Ali Zouiti, official of the Philippeville Local Union; Belkacem Bouzazoua, delegate, Sidi Mddrouf Mines; Mohamed Gas, Secretary, Philippeville Local Union; Mohamed Halladj, docker, Philippeville; Ahmed Gueniche, leader, State of Telergma Workers; Hacene Boudjana, railway worker, Constantine; Said Nassri and Augustin Pugliese, officers of the Constantine Railway Workers' Union; Rabah Sfazi and Mohamed Smati, C.A.S.I.S. Trade Union, Constantine; Rabah Cheriffi, Constantine Hospital Workers' Union; Ali Boularouz and Djenane, leaders of the Bougie Cork Workers' Union; Tahar Bensalhem, Secretary, Bône Railway Workers' Union; Mohamed Salah Toumi, Secretary, Bône Federation of Trade Unions; Adkelkader Benzegalah, Secretary, Entertainment Workers' Union; Mustapha Sali, Secretary, Bône Pharmaceutical Workers' Union; Amar Ben Maradji, Bône Entertainment Workers' Union; Abdal Boucharma, leader, Bône Dockers; Amar Brahimi, executive member, Bône Hospital Workers; Younes Kouch, former Bône railway worker; Sabbia, trade union leader, Tébessa; Negrichi, garage worker, Tábessa; Ahmed Yayaoui, Bône; Hamou Godban, leader, Telergma Health Service Workers' Union; Guessoum Dahmane, Secretary, Algérois Federation of Trade Unions; Ahcene Mesbahi, officer of the Algérois Federation of Trade Unions; Mohamed Fahem, executive member, Workers of the State of Constantine; Belkacem Belouzane, P.T.T. Trade Union; Saïd Hasbellaoui, leader, Dellys P.T.T. Union; Jeunehomme, Secretary, Algiers Road Workers' Union; François Verdu, Secretary, Algerian Union of Hospital Workers.
4. 147. In the complaint of the I.C.F.T.U dated 16 February 1957 a further 72 trade union leaders and militants were listed as having been interned, in addition to Mr. Aissat Idir, General Secretary of the U.G.T.A, on whose particular case the Committee submitted its conclusions to the Governing Body in its 44th Report. The names of these 72 persons were: Messrs. Attala Benaissa, Boualem Bourouiba, Rabah Djermane, Abdenour Ali Yahia, union executive committee members; Tahar Gaid, officer of the Teachers' Union; Haddadi Abdelaziz, railwayman, executive member; Hacene Bourouiba, teacher, member of local federation of Algiers; Amrani, Secretary, Local Federation of Algiers; Reba and Mohamed Merzouk, officers of the P.T.T. Union; Alem, officer of the Tramwaymen's Union; Ali Yayia Madjid, National Secretary of the U.G.T.A.; Messaoudi Zitouni, legal adviser of the U.G.T.A.; Benamara Abdelaziz, Secretary, Algerian Transport Workers' Union (T.A.); Abdelmadjid Metamri, Treasurer of the T.A. Trade Union; Akli Zioui, Rabah Mansouri, Said Merah and Amar Dekkar, officers of the T.A. Trade Union; Rabah Zitouni, Secretary of the S.O.M.E.L. Trade Union, Maison Carrée; Omar Fahassi, Secretary of the Local Federation of Maison Carrée; Youssef Fes, Treasurer of the S.O.M.E.L. Trade Union; Bendaoud and Mustapha Lassel, trade union officers; Mohammed Flissi, Mahieddine Bourouiba, Ahmed Zitouni, Mohamed Akeb, Rabeh Djeffal and Mustapha Lassel, National Secretaries of U.G.T.A.; Miloud Msabih, General Secretary, Ports and Dockers; Larbi Chiour, Treasurer-General, Ports and Dockers; Mohammed Temmi, General Secretary, Oran Hospital Workers' Union; Hacene Krallafa, Deputy General Secretary, Oran Tramway Workers' Union; Said Ait, General Secretary, Builders' Union and Oran General Federation; Ahmed Haoua, Deputy General Secretary of the Builders' Union and General Secretary of the Local Federation of Oran; Harkati, Bouderbal and Madani, officers of the R.D.T.A. Trade Union; Akouche, officer of the C.A.S.I.D.A. Trade Union; Ali Baba, Treasurer, E.G.A. Trade Union; Kaddache, executive member, Algerian Teachers' Union; Ouldene Trani, Mohammed Bouziane, Ahmed Bouhadjar and Hamida Ben Slimane, officers of the Local Federation of Oran; Kanouni, officer of the Dockers' Union; Rabah Zitouni, General Secretary of the Local Federation of Oran; Youssef Fess and Ben Daoud, members of the Local Federation of Oran; Mohammed Fahassi, Treasurer-General of the Local Federation of Oran; Mohamed Aiche, executive member, Hospital Workers' Union; Mustapha Babali, executive member, E.G.A. Trade Union; Omar Berranem, executive member, Dockers' Union; Mahfoud Ben Bouabib, executive member, P.T.T. Union; Chebahi Ben Tayeb, Secretary, Builders' Union; Abdelhamid Chikbouni, executive member, Office Employees' Union; Abdelkader Lounis, executive member, Leather and Hides Workers' Union; Mohamed Maini, Secretary, Mineworkers' Union; Mohammed Ramdani, Secretary-General of the Confederation of Algerian Workers (U.S.T.A.); Abdelkader Tefaha, Deputy Secretary-General, U.S.T.A.; Said Bouzrar, Treasurer-General. U.S.T.A.; Arezki Djerman, Deputy Treasurer-General, U.S.T.A.; Achour Ahlouche, Deputy Treasurer, U.S.T.A.; Hocine Lahmar, Said Allouch, Ahmed Djemai, Said Lamari, Mohammed Lamari, Laid Kheffache, Ali Sekarcha and Akli Idjouadene, assessors of U.S.T.A.
5. 148. In its communication dated 23 March 1957 the I.C.F.T.U declared that the number of U.G.T.A members interned had risen to 276. The I.C.F.T.U added to its list the name of Nourredine Skander, National Secretary of the U.G.T.A.
6. 149. At its meeting on 21 and 22 October 1957 the Committee, after considering these allegations and the Government's observations thereon, recommended the Governing Body, in paragraph 293 (c) of its 27th Report:
7. to draw the attention of the French Government to the importance which it attaches to the principle that when trade unionists are accused of political or criminal offences which a government considers to be outside the scope of their trade union activities they should be judged promptly by an impartial and independent judicial authority; to express the hope that the Government will bear this principle in mind and inform it in due course as to the legal or judicial proceedings which may be taken in the case of those of the persons referred to by the complainants who are still interned and as to the results of such proceedings.
8. This recommendation was approved by the Governing Body on 31 October 1957 in the course of its 137th Session.
9. 150. At its meeting on 26 and 27 February 1958 the Committee repeated this recommendation to the Governing Body in paragraph 274 (c) of its 28th Report, which was approved by the Governing Body on 13 March 1958 in the course of its 138th Session. A further reminder was addressed to the Government in this connection in the 35th Report of the Committee, which was approved by the Governing Body at its 142nd Session (May-June 1959).
10. 151. At its meeting on 19 November 1959 the Committee had before it a communication from the French Government dated 16 November 1959, in which it was stated that, following proceedings before the examining magistrate in Blida involving 28 persons, Mr. Ali Yayia Madjid, National Secretary of the U.G.T.A and one of the interned persons listed in the complaint of the I.C.F.T.U. (see paragraph 147 above), was charged on 24 September 1959 with offences against the external security of the State, wilful assault and the coercion of certain of his co-religionists and that judicial proceedings in respect of his case were pending. The Committee submitted a short interim report in its 42nd Report, which was approved by the Governing Body on 20 November 1959 in the course of its 143rd Session.
11. 152. The Committee resumed its examination of these allegations at its meeting on 17 and 18 February 1960. It then had before it further communications from the I.C.F.T.U, dated 30 July, 3 August and 10 September 1959, and from the W.F.T.U, dated 4 July and 15 August 1959, and observations forwarded by the French Government in a communication dated 22 January 1960. The contents of these communications from the complainants and the Government were considered at length in paragraphs 59 to 84 of the 44th Report of the Committee and only the more salient points are reproduced in the present report.
12. 153. The W.F.T.U alleged that a great many trade unionists had by this time been held in prisons or concentration camps, some for more than four years, without ever having been charged or tried or even after examining magistrates had decided that there were no grounds for prosecution or courts had acquitted them.
13. 154. The I.C.F.T.U furnished what it described as a " far from complete " list of principal trade union leaders alleged still to be in detention, after from two to three years, in June 1959. This list contains 36 names. Reference is made, firstly, to the cases of Messrs. Mohamed Akeb, Abdenour Ali Yahia, Ali Yayia Madjid, Attalah Benaïssa, Boualem Bourouiba, Rabah Djermane, Mohammed Flissi, Mustapha Lassel, Messaoudi Zitouni, Mahieddine Bourouiba, Haddadi Abdellaziz, Mustapha Babali, Hacen Bourouiba, Tahar Gaid, Mohamed Maine, Chebahi Ben Tayed, Abdelhamid Chikbouni, Mahfoud Benbouabib, Said Alt, Hamida Ben Slimane, Ahmed Bouhadjar, Mohamed Bouziane, Ouldene Trani, Mohamed Aiech, Omar Fahassi, these 25 persons having been included in the earlier list submitted by this complainant in February 1957. The new list includes two persons-Messrs. Rabah Zetouni, described as Secretary of the Maison Carrée Regional Union, Hamida Harkati, described as officer of the Algerian Tramway Workers' Union-of whom it cannot be said with certainty whether they correspond to the Messrs. Rabah Zitouni, described in the first list as General Secretary of the Local Federation of Oran, and Harkati, described in the first list as officer of the R.D.T.A. Trade Union. Finally, the new list contains nine apparently new names: Messrs. Allal Abdelkader, General Secretary of the U.G.T.A.; Mohamed Habib, Secretary of the Algerian Electricity and Gas Workers' Union; Djelloul Laredj, Secretary, Algerian Miners' Union; Mahfoud Zefouni, Secretary of the Algerian Tobacco Workers' Union; Mohamed Benzireg, Secretary of the Algiers Bank Employees' Union; Slimane Laimech, Secretary of the Algiers Dockers' Union; Youcef Fes, Secretary, Maison Carrée Regional Union; Mohamed Bendaoud and Meziane Sari, officers of the Maison Carrée Metal Workers' Union.
14. 155. The complainant alleged that Mr. Ali Yayia Madjid had been detained in the Paul Cazelles camp for three years, without trial and in bad conditions, that another of the detainees in the same camp, Mr. Rabah Djermane, had been shot in the stomach by a French soldier in March 1957 and that, in another camp, about the same time, French soldiers beat up internees and shot and wounded some of them, so that they had to be taken to military hospitals, since when nothing further had been heard of them.
15. 156. In its communication dated 22 January 1960 the Government referred again to the charges which had been brought against Mr. Ali Yayia Madjid and furnished observations relating to the internment centres which are analysed at length in the 44th Report of the Committee. In particular, the Government described (44th Report, paragraphs 77 to 80) the procedure for the periodic review of the cases of internees by the Internment Order Review Board and a special committee under the chairmanship of a magistrate.
16. 157. With regard to the allegations relating to the shooting of Mr. Rabah Djermane and the maltreatment of other trade unionists the Government stated that the information available did not indicate that the persons concerned had been subjected to the treatment in question.
17. 158. After considering these matters at its 24th Session (February 1960) the Committee recommended the Governing Body, in subparagraphs (a), (c), (d), and (e) of paragraph 98 of its 44th Report:
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19. (a) to draw the attention of the French Government once again to the importance which it attaches to the principle that when trade unionists are accused of political or criminal offences which a government considers to be outside the scope of their trade union activities, they, like all other persons, should be judged promptly by an impartial and independent judicial authority;
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21. (c) to request the Government to furnish a speedy reply concerning the present position, in the light of the principles enunciated in subparagraph (a) above, of those of the trade unionists alleged to have been detained, who may still be in detention, including, in particular, Mr. Ali Yayia Madjid and Mr. Rabah Djermane and other persons listed in the I.C.F.T.U's communication dated 3 August 1959; to request the Government also to furnish information to the Governing Body as to the results of the legal or judicial proceedings taken or to be taken in this connection;
22. (d) to request the Government to state on how many occasions the application of the procedure for the periodic examination of cases of persons assigned a forced residence has resulted in the liberation of persons in the list of 36 trade union leaders named by the complainants and to state the names of those of them who may have been liberated;
23. (e) to request the French Government to furnish as a matter of urgency the information requested of it by the Governing Body when it adopted paragraph 293 (c) of the 27th Report of the Committee at its 137th Session (October-November 1957) and concerning which reminders were addressed to the Government in the 28th and 35th Reports of the Committee, adopted by the Governing Body at its 138th Session (March 1958) and its 142nd Session (May-June 1959) respectively.
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25. Further, in paragraph 98 (f) of that report, the Committee recommended the Governing Body to request the Government to furnish detailed information as to the inquiries made into the alleged shooting of Mr. Rabah Djermane and the alleged maltreatment of other trade unionists referred to in paragraph 155 above and as to the results of such inquiries. These recommendations were approved by the Governing Body on 3 March 1960 in the course of its 144th Session, and the Government was asked, by a letter dated 9 March 1960, to furnish the information requested therein.
26. 159. At its meeting on 20 May 1960 the Committee adjourned its examination, as no reply had been received from the French Government.
27. 160. On 23 May 1960 the French Government furnished the following information. The Government stated that, as previously mentioned, Mr. Ali Yayia Madjid had been indicted on charges of imperilling the external security of the State and of assault and battery with intent to cause bodily harm. He was first transferred to the Bossuet Centre and was later remanded in custody and lodged in the Blida civil prison on 1 November 1959. At the beginning of February 1960 his counsel reported that their client had been maltreated by the warders responsible for guarding him. The Public Prosecutor attached to the Algiers Court of Appeal instituted an investigation into these allegations. The outcome of the investigation, declared the Government, showed that at no time did Mr. Ali Yayia Madjid " have any reasonable grounds to impugn the behaviour of the prison staff at the Blida Prison ". The Government went on to state that during his detention he had committed acts of the same nature as those which occasioned his transfer from the Paul Cazelles Centre to the Bossuet Centre in September 1959 and his subsequent indictment. He was moved to the Algiers penitentiary on 22 February 1960. Finally, the Government declared that on 5 March and 8 April 1960, on the orders of the Public Prosecutor, one of his deputies visited the penitentiary and satisfied himself that the conditions under which Mr. Ali Yayia Madjid was detained were as they should be. Consequently, on 15 April 1960, the Public Prosecutor decided to take no further action on the complaint submitted by counsel for Mr. Ali Yayia Madjid.
28. 161. On 13 June 1960 the Director-General wrote to the French Government acknowledging the receipt of its above-mentioned communication dated 23 May 1960 and informing the Government of the Committee's decision, on 20 May 1960, to adjourn its examination of the case until its next session. In his letter the Director-General also asked the Government to furnish the information requested by the Governing Body and the Committee on the different points indicated in paragraph 98 of the Committee's 44th Report (see paragraph 158 above).
29. 162. In a communication dated 12 August 1960 the I.C.F.T.U expressed its dissatisfaction at the failure to take definite decisions in a matter which it had asked should be treated as a case of urgency. The complainants declared that active trade unionists, who had not been charged with any crime, had been languishing in prisons and detention camps for many years. Although more than a year had elapsed since the submission by the complainants on 3 August 1959 of a list of detained Algerian trade unionists, only one or two persons, they contended, had been released. The complainants referred to the case of Mr. Aïssat Idir as constituting proof of the dangers which threaten the detainees. In particular, they referred to the case of Mr. Allal Abdelkader, General Secretary of the U.G.T.A as constituting a violation of the principle set forth in paragraph 98 (b) of the Committee's 44th Report-they stated that he was arrested in March 1957 and detained until he was tried by an Algiers military court in 12 January 1959, being sentenced to a term of imprisonment which terminated in March 1960. Nevertheless, alleged the complainants, he had again been detained and his whereabouts were unknown.
30. 163. The above communication of the I.C.F.T.U was transmitted to the French Government by the Director-General by a letter dated 14 September 1960. In his letter the Director-General once again asked the Government to furnish the information requested on the different points indicated in paragraph 98 of the Committee's 44th Report. In a letter dated 8 November 1960 the Government stated that, as it had received no further information since the despatch of its letter dated 23 May 1960, it would only refer again to the said communication of 23 May 1960 and to its earlier communications dated 16 November 1959 and 22 January 1960.
31. 164. At its meeting on 14 November 1960 the Committee considered that the reply from the French Government dated 23 May 1960, which was confined to a number of details given with a view to refuting the contention that Mr. Ali Yayia Madjid had been maltreated while in detention, did not constitute a reply to the points on which the Governing Body, as indicated in paragraph 158 above, had requested the Government to furnish information. It seemed to revel the explanation that, although proceedings were instituted before an examining magistrate against Mr. Ali Yayia Madjid and 27 others on the grounds of having endangered the external safety of the State and of wilful assault, after which Mr. Ali Yayia Madjid was charged on 24 September 1959, he had even then, apparently, not been brought to trial. In this connection the Committee observed that it had before it allegations in a communication dated 12 August 1960 from the I.C.F.T.U, to which the Government had not replied, according to which the 36 persons named in its complaint dated 3 August 1959 (including Mr. Ali Yayia Madjid) had never, with the exception of one, been brought to trial and only one or two had been released. Finally, the I.C.F.T.U made a new allegation with regard to the one person, Mr. Allal Abdelkader, General Secretary of the U.G.T.A, who appeared to have been tried, stating that, although the term of imprisonment to which he was sentenced by a military court terminated in March 1960, he had again been detained.
32. 165. In these circumstances the Committee made the following recommendations to the Governing Body in paragraph 51 of its 51st Report:
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34. (a) to note with regret that the French Government has not furnished information as to the legal and judicial proceedings which might be taken in the case of those of the complainants referred to in the complaints who were still interned and as to the results of such proceedings, in accordance with the request of the Governing Body when it adopted paragraph 293 (c) of the 27th Report of the Committee at its 137th Session (October-November 1957), concerning which reminders were addressed to the Government in the 28th and 35th Reports of the Committee, adopted by the Governing Body at its 138th Session (March 1958) and its 142nd Session (May-June 1959) respectively, and which the French Government was yet again asked by the Governing Body to furnish, as a matter of urgency, when it adopted paragraph 98 (e) of the Committee's 44th Report at its 144th Session (1-4 March 1960);
35. (b) to note with regret that the Government also has not furnished full information on the other points on which the Governing Body requested information when adopting subparagraphs (e) to (f) of paragraph 98 of the Committee's 44th Report;
36. (c) to draw the attention of the Government yet again to the importance which the Governing Body attached to the principle that when trade unionists are accused of political or criminal offences which a government considers to be outside the scope of their trade union activities, they, like all other persons, should be judged promptly by an impartial and independent judicial authority;
37. (d) to note that, while the Government declared in its communication dated 16 November 1959 that proceedings had been instituted before an examining magistrate against Mr. Ali Yayia Madjid and 27 other persons on the ground that they had endangered the external safety of the State and committed wilful assault, Mr. Ali Yayia Madjid thereafter having been charged on 24 September 1959, no further information has been furnished by the Government as to what has ensued following the bringing of this charge against Mr. Ali Yayia Madjid and the institution of proceedings in 27 other cases before an examining magistrate;
38. (e) to request the Government to furnish a reply, as a matter of particular urgency, concerning the present position, in the light of the principle enunciated in subparagraph (c) above and of its own statements referred to in subparagraph (d) above, of those of the trade unionists alleged to have been detained who may still be in detention, including, in particular, Mr. Ali Yayia Madjid and Mr. Rabah Djermane and other persons listed in the I.C.F.T.U's communication dated 3 August 1959 and whose names are given in paragraph 50 above; to request the Government also to furnish information to the Governing Body, as a matter of urgency, as to the results of the legal or judicial proceedings taken or to be taken in this connection;
39. (f) to request the Government once again, and having regard to the specific allegation in the I.C.F.T.U's communication dated 12 August 1960-a copy of which was transmitted to the Government on 14 September 1960-that only one or two at most of the 36 persons referred to in paragraph 50 above have been released, to state on how many occasions the application of the procedure for the periodic examination of cases of persons assigned a forced residence has resulted in the liberation of persons in the said list of 36 persons and to state the names of those of them who may have been liberated;
40. (g) to draw the attention of the Government to the Governing Body's view that a situation permitting of the further detention of any person after he has served a sentence imposed upon him is not compatible with the principle enunciated in subparagraph (c) above, and to request the Government, having regard to that view, to reply specifically to the allegation in the I.C.F.T.U's communication dated 12 August 1960 that Mr. Abdelkader, General Secretary of U.G.T.A, after having served a sentence imposed upon him by a military court and which terminated in March 1960, has again been detained;
41. (h) to request the Government yet again to furnish as a matter of urgency the information referred to in subparagraph (a) above;
42. (i) to request the Government to furnish detailed information as to the inquiries made into the alleged shooting of Mr. Rabah Djermane and the alleged maltreatment of other trade unionists referred to in paragraph 21 above and as to the results of such inquiries.
43. These recommendations were approved by the Governing Body at its 147th Session (November 1960).
44. 166. The above request for information was conveyed to the Government by a letter dated 23 November 1960.
45. 167. In a letter dated 20 February 1961 the Government stated that Mr. Ali Yayia Madjid and those accused with him had recently been tried by the Permanent Tribunal of the Armed Forces for the South Algiers Zone on charges of endangering the safety of the State and wilful assault and causing bodily harm; it appeared from the judgment, said the Government, that the persons concerned were sentenced in respect of crimes or offences having no connection with the exercise of their trade union activities.
46. 168. In a further letter dated 23 February 1961 the Government stated that Mr. Ali Yayia Madjid was sentenced, on 28 October 1960, to five years' imprisonment for endangering the safety of the State, and was held in the civil prison in Algiers. The Government stated further that Mr. Abdelkader was liberated on 21 May 1960 and assigned a residence at his home for three months.
47. 169. At its meeting on 23 and 24 February 1961 the Committee decided to adjourn its examination until it had before it all the further information requested in paragraph 71 of its 51st Report. The Government was informed of this decision and asked to furnish the information in question by a letter dated 19 April 1961.
48. 170. In a letter dated 24 May 1961 the Government stated that, as regards the " other trade unionists " concerning whom information was requested, it could only repeat that they were not being prosecuted for their trade union activities but were interned or had been convicted for security or other criminal offences. Accordingly, repeated the Government, the ordinary criminal proceedings or the action under emergency powers taken against them did not relate to any trade union activity. The Government added that no new facts had emerged since its letters of 20 and 23 February 1961.
49. 171. At its meeting on 29 and 30 May 1961 the Committee again adjourned its examination of the case pending receipt of the whole of the information requested in paragraph 71 of its 51st Report. The Government was informed of this decision and asked to furnish the information in question by a letter dated 26 June 1961.
50. 172. In a letter dated 24 October 1961 the Government confirmed its earlier letters of 20 February, 23 February and 24 May 1961 and repeated that the trade unionists referred to in the complaints were not proceeded against because of their trade union activities, but were detained or sentenced for having endangered the safety of the State or for common-law crimes or offences. The Government added that on earlier occasions it had transmitted information respecting the exercise of trade union rights in Algeria, assignments of forced residence and the particular cases raised and that, as no new events had occurred since then, it would only refer to its earlier replies.
51. 173. In its communication dated 9 November 1961 the Government declares that the evolution of the situation in Algeria should permit of a return to the normal exercise of civil liberties, furnishes information with regard to the internees whose names are listed in paragraph 154 above and states that inquiries are being made into the other matters concerning which information was requested in the 51st Report of the Committee and that information as to the outcome of these inquiries will be furnished.
52. 174. With regard to the said internees referred to in paragraph 154 above, the Government gives the following information. Messrs. Abdennour, Ali Yayia, Abdelkader Amrani, Attalah Benaissa, Boualem Bourouiba, Rabah Djermane, Mohamed Flissi, Mustapha Lassel, Messaoudi Zitouni, Mahieddine Bourouiba, Mustapha Babali, Djelloul Laredj, Mohamed Maini, Mahfoud Zefouni, Ahmed Harkati, Mohamed Benzireg, Chebani Ben Tayeb, Abdelhamid Chikbouni, Slimane Laimeche, Mahfoud Benbouhabib, Said Alt, Amar Fahassi and Youcef Fes were liberated from internment on the various dates indicated by the Government. Mr. Mohamed Habib and Mr. Meziane Sari were liberated from internment camps and assigned a residence at their homes. Mr. Haddadi Abdelaziz and Mr. Rabah Zetouni have also been assigned a residence at their homes. Mr. Ali Yayia Madjid is now held at the Sidi Chami internment centre and Mr. Tahar Gaid at Tefeschoun. Mr. Hacene Bourouiba was prohibited from residing in Algeria on 3 March 1960 and went to France. Finally, declares the Government, Mr. Mohamed Akeb escaped from an internment camp and Mr. Mohamed Bendaoud never was the subject of administrative internment, while it has not been possible to identify the persons named as Messrs. Hamida Benslimane, Ahmed Bouhadjar, Mohamed Bouziane and Ouldene Trani.
53. 175. In these circumstances the Committee recommends the Governing Body:
54. (a) to note the Government's statement that the evolution of the situation in Algeria should permit of a return to the normal exercise of civil liberties;
55. (b) to note the Government's statement that inquiries are being made into the other matters concerning which information was requested in the 51st Report of the Committee and that information as to the outcome of these inquiries will be furnished;
56. (c) to note the Government's statements that Mr. Ali Yayia Madjid and certain other persons were tried by the Permanent Tribunal of the Armed Forces for the South Algiers Zone on charges of endangering the safety of the State and wilful assault and causing bodily harm, that Mr. Ali Yayia Madjid himself was sentenced on 28 October 1960 to five years' imprisonment for endangering the safety of the State, and that it appeared from the judgment that the persons concerned were sentenced in respect of crimes or offences having no connection with the exercise of their trade union activities, and to request the Government to indicate whether a copy of this judgment can be made available to it;
57. (d) to note the Government's statement that Mr. Abdelkader was liberated on 21 May 1960 and assigned a residence at his home for three months;
58. (e) to note the information contained in the Government's communication dated 9 November 1961 concerning the present position with regard to the other persons referred to as being interned in the I.C.F.T.U's complaint dated 3 August 1959, whose names are indicated in paragraph 154 above;
59. (f) to decide having regard to the importance which the Governing Body attaches to the principle that when trade unionists are accused of political or criminal offences which a government considers to be outside the scope of their trade union activities, they like all other persons, should be judged promptly by an impartial and independent judicial authority, to request the Government to furnish, as a matter of urgency, similar information as to the present position with regard to the other persons referred to as being interned in the earlier complaints submitted, and whose names are set forth in paragraphs 146, 147 and 148 above;
60. (g) to request the Government yet again to furnish detailed information as to the inquiries made into the alleged shooting of Mr. Rabah Djermane and the alleged maltreatment of other trade unionists referred to in paragraph 155 above and as to the results of such inquiries.
61. Allegations relating to Withdrawal of Representative Status from Certain Trade Union Organisations
62. 176. In its communication dated 10 September 1959 the I.C.F.T.U refers to the allegations examined by the Committee in paragraphs 252 to 266 of its 27th Report with reference to the withdrawal of representative status in 1956 from a number of Algerian trade union federations. The present allegations of the complainant relate more especially to the case of one of these federations-the U.G.T.A. The complainant alleges that in the reply which was submitted to the Committee when it examined the case in its 27th Report the French Government sought to justify this measure and to minimise its implications.
63. 177. The complainant declares that the information furnished by the French Government in 1957 was to the effect that an Order of 22 December 1956 granted representative status to four federations, excluding the U.G.T.A, the General Federation of Algerian Trade Unions (U.G.S.A.) and the Algerian Workers' Trade Union Federation (U.S.T.A). (The position of U.G.S.A. had already been affected by a circular of 6 October 1956 and Decree No. 56-276 of 26 November 1956.) For the true story of the matter as it affected the U.G.T.A, declares the complainant, it is necessary to consider events which took place earlier in 1956.
64. 178. The complainant states that the U.G.T.A was founded on 26 February 1956 and was recognised as representative 20 days later and obtained 72 per cent of the votes in the election of members of the Disciplinary Council of the R.D.T.A. (Algerian Tramways). It then put up candidates in the elections for the Works Committee of the R.D.T.A. This poll was held on 30 April 1956. The complainant alleges that the ballot boxes were sealed up without the votes being counted and that, during a meeting of the former Works Committee on 14 May 1956, the tramways branch manager gave as the only explanation of the cancelling of the ballot the fact that the elections had been suspended for three months and the terms of office of the outgoing delegates extended for the same period. In support of this statement, continues the complainant, he produced no written instruction from the office of the Governor-General, and the delegates' protest was recorded in the minutes of the meeting. In the view of the complainant, the arbitrary nature of this measure is proved by the fact that the Government itself mentions no official texts dated prior to 6 October 1956, several months after the events alleged above. By that time, adds the complainant, the U.G.T.A's leaders had been arrested, its funds confiscated, its premises occupied by the army and its newspaper seized and banned, so that in practice it could no longer function or institute any proceedings against administrative measures taken against it.
65. 179. The complainant goes on to declare that during the trial of Mr. Aïssat Idir and other trade union leaders in January 1959 attempts were made to show that the U.G.T.A had been subversive, but the prosecutor himself recognised that it was a lawful organisation. In the complainant's view the dismissal of the " felonious association " charge against Mr. Aïssat Idir, General Secretary of the U.G.T.A, refutes the Government's argument that the administrative measures taken against the U.G.T.A were justified by the fact that the U.G.T.A was an offshoot of the F.L.N and that its activities were therefore unlawful.
66. 180. Referring to the Committee's statement in paragraph 266 of its 27th Report that it would appear that the organisations from which representative status had been withdrawn had " engaged in political activities of a nature and scope exceeding those normally associated with the activities of trade unions ", the complainant expresses the view that there is no contradiction between the terms of the resolution concerning the independence of the trade union movement adopted by the International Labour Conference at its 35th Session in 1952 - cited by the Committee in the paragraph mentioned-and " the right, nay the duty, of a trade union organisation to pronounce on occasion on political questions of direct concern to the interest of its members ". The U.G.T.A, declares the complainant, " had taken a stand in favour of Algerian independence, being convinced that only political independence would make it possible to put an end to the economic and social exploitation against which it was struggling ".
67. 181. Finally, contends the complainant, the recommendations contained in paragraph 265 of the Committee's 27th Report should be reconsidered because they have remained without effect, no " procedure offering every guarantee of impartiality " having been instituted to restore to the U.G.T.A the possibility of recovering its premises, records and confiscated funds so that it may function freely as an organisation with representative status.
68. 182. At its meeting in February 1960 the Committee observed that in its reply dated 22 January 1960 the Government states that the U.G.T.A, U.G.S.A. and U.S.T.A had never been dissolved and that they continued to be lawful because their Constitutions and rules conformed fully to statutory requirement. The Constitutions and rules of all three federations, according to the Government, state that they are constituted " within the framework of the laws and institutions " and that they " shall refrain from any controversy of a political or religious nature ". The Government added that the conditions for representative status are defined by the Act of 11 February 1950 for the purposes which that Act seeks to attain, and that " the fact that a trade union is not recognised as being representative constitutes no impediment to the execution of trade union rights ".
69. 183. The Committee noted that, while the actual question of the withdrawal of representative status from the three organisations in question was examined by the Committee in paragraphs 252 to 266 of its 27th Report, the complainant in the present case adduces a number of further points on which the Committee has never pronounced and on which the Government has made no observations. Thus, in addition to the contention that the recommendations made in the Committee's 27th Report have had no effect, the complainant refers to events in 1956 (prior to the withdrawal of representative status) connected with the election of union representatives on certain bodies, and also to the confiscation of the funds of the U.G.T.A. Before considering these allegations further, therefore, the Committee decided to request the Government to furnish its observations on the points in question.
70. 184. In its communication dated 23 May 1960 the Government states that it has no information to add to the details previously given.
71. 185. In these circumstances the Committee at its meeting on 14 November 1960 recommended the Governing Body, in paragraph 71 (d) of its 51st Report, to request the Government to furnish further observations on the specific points raised in the allegations analysed in paragraphs 176 to 181 above.
72. 186. This recommendation was approved by the Governing Body at its 147th Session (November 1960). The Government was informed of this decision and requested to furnish the observations in question by a letter dated 23 November 1960.
73. 187. No observations on this matter were contained in the Government's communications dated 20 February, 23 February, 24 May and 24 October 1961. In its communication dated 9 November 1961 the Government states that the outstanding matters on which information was requested in the 51st Report of the Committee are being investigated and that information as to the outcome of the inquiries will be furnished.
74. 188. In these circumstances the Committee recommends the Governing Body to request the Government to furnish these further observations as early as possible.
75. Allegations relating to the Seizure and Banning of Trade Union Publications
76. 189. The complainant begins by referring to the fact that when the Committee examined allegations of a similar nature in paragraphs 276 to 280 of its 27th Report the Government's observations and the Committee's considerations were confined to the case of Le Travailleur algérien, the organ of the U.G.S.A. The complainants are now concerned with the alleged seizure and banning of L'Ouvrier algérien, organ of the U.G.T.A. They state that one of the main accusations against Mr. Aissat Idir was that, as the " responsible editor ", he had signed articles in favour of Algerian independence and the struggle of the F.L.N, but that his acquittal by the military court demonstrates that these articles were not considered punishable; Mr. Aissat Idir, moreover, was the one trade unionist in the trial not charged with being a member of the F.L.N. Hence, concludes the complainant, the reasons for the seizure and banning of the newspaper were recognised as unwarranted and this measure was a violation of the organisation's trade union right of publication.
77. 190. The Government stated in its communication dated 22 January 1960 that the majority of the issues of the newspaper had been confiscated on the orders of the local administrative authorities, these measures being justified by the nature and contents of its articles, viz. " repeated incitement to violence and insurrectional strikes, the dissemination of orders from the rebel forces, slanderous charges against government officials and civil servants, and (even more frequently) the publicity given in its columns to acts which gravely imperilled public order and the security of life and property ".
78. 191. At its meeting in February 1960 the Committee observed that, as the complainants contend, the only case considered in detail by the Committee in its 27th Report was that of Le Travailleur algérien, organ of the U.G.S.A. Only a brief reference was made to the confiscation of L'Ouvrier algérien on some occasions. The Committee reached its conclusions in paragraphs 278 to 280 of its 27th Report, after considering reasons for its banning given by the Government-these reasons in many respects being substantially similar to those given in the present case. But in the case of Le Travailleur algérien, the Government's arguments were supported by a number of extracts from issues of that newspaper, and this was a material factor in enabling the Committee to form its appreciation of the matter, as it had been in an earlier case in which the Committee had had to pronounce on similar issues. Before formulating its conclusions in the present case, therefore, the Committee decided to request the Government to furnish extracts from banned issues of L'Ouvrier algérien, in the light of its observations as cited in paragraph 190 above.
79. 192. In its communication dated 23 May 1960 the Government states that it has no information to add to the details previously given.
80. 193. In these circumstances the Committee, at its meeting on 14 November 1960, recommended the Governing Body, in paragraph 71 (e) of its 51st Report, to request the Government to furnish extracts from banned issues of L'Ouvrier algérien in the light of its observations as cited in paragraph 190 above.
81. 194. This recommendation was approved by the Governing Body at its 147th Session (November 1960). The Government was informed of this decision and requested to furnish the extracts in question by a letter dated 23 November 1960.
82. 195. No specific reference to this matter was contained in the Government's communications dated 20 February, 23 February, 24 May and 24 October 1961. In its communication dated 9 November 1961 the Government states that all the outstanding matters on which information was requested in the 51st Report of the Committee are being investigated and that information as to the outcome of the inquiries will be furnished.
83. 196. In these circumstances the Committee recommends the Governing Body to request the Government to furnish such extracts as early as possible.
84. Allegations relating to Restrictions on the Activities of Trade Union Leaders
85. 197. In the complaint now before the Committee, the I.C.F.T.U confines its allegations to one particular instance. It is alleged that Mr. Delouvrier, the French Delegate-General, in a statement on 7 August 1959, declared that he had received many requests to visit Mr. Aissat Idir, the former General Secretary of the U.G.T.A, at the Maillot Hospital, but that he had " screened " them, " refusing in particular to allow a visit by the representative of the I.C.F.T.U, whose attitude had been particularly violent ". This reference, declares the complainant, was to Mr. Bernasconi, General Secretary of the Swiss Trade Union Federation, delegated by the complainant to contact Mr. Aïssat Idir. The complainant declares that this constituted a violation of the right of national trade union organisations freely to maintain contact with the international organisations to which they are affiliated.
86. 198. At its meeting in February 1960 the Committee observed that, in its communication dated 16 November 1959, the Government stated that the I.C.F.T.U had been given permission early in 1959 to send an observer to the trial of Aïssat Idir and that permission to visit him had been given to Mr. Garrigues, representing counsel, Maitre Rolin, in Algiers, as well as to Mr. Vust, delegate of the International Red Cross. The Government, however, made no reference to the case of Mr. Bernasconi or to the statement regarding him alleged to have been made by Mr. Delouvrier on 7 August 1959. In these circumstances the Committee decided to request the Government to furnish its observations on this aspect of the matter.
87. 199. No observations on this aspect of the case having been received from the Government, the Committee, at its meeting on 14 November 1960, recommended the Governing Body, in paragraph 71 (f) of its 51st Report, to request the Government to furnish its observations on these allegations.
88. 200. This recommendation was approved by the Governing Body at its 147th Session (November 1960). The Government was informed of this decision and requested to furnish the observations in question by a letter dated 23 November 1960.
89. 201. No observations on this matter were contained in the Government's communications dated 20 February, 23 February, 24 May and 24 October 1961. In its communication dated 9 November 1961 the Government stated that all the outstanding matters on which information was requested in the 51st Report of the Committee are being investigated and that information as to the outcome of the inquiries will be furnished.
90. 202. In these circumstances the Committee recommends the Governing Body to request the Government to furnish these observations as early as possible.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 203. In all the circumstances the Committee recommends the Governing Body:
   • (a) to note the Government's statement that the evolution of the situation in Algeria should permit of a return to the normal exercise of civil liberties;
   • (b) to note the Government's statement that inquiries are being made into the other matters concerning which information was requested in the 51st Report of the Committee and that information as to the outcome of these inquiries will be furnished;
   • (c) to note the Government's statement that Mr. Ali Yayia Madjid and certain other persons were tried by the Permanent Tribunal of the Armed Forces for the South Algiers Zone on charges of endangering the safety of the State and wilful assault and causing bodily harm, that Mr. Ali Yayia Madjid himself was sentenced on 28 October 1960 to five years' imprisonment for endangering the safety of the State, and that it appeared from the judgment that the persons concerned were sentenced in respect of crimes or offences having no connection with the exercise of their trade union activities, and to request the Government to indicate whether a copy of this judgment can be made available to it;
   • (d) to note the Government's statement that Mr. Abdelkader was liberated on 21 May 1960 and assigned a residence at his home for three months;
   • (e) to note the information contained in the Government's communication dated 9 November 1961 concerning the present position with regard to the other persons referred to as being interned in the complaint of the I.C.F.T.U dated 3 August 1959, whose names are indicated in paragraph 154 above;
   • (f) to decide having regard to the importance which the Governing Body attaches to the principle that when trade unionists are accused of political or criminal offences which a government considers to be outside the scope of their trade union activities, they like all other persons, should be judged promptly by an impartial and independent judicial authority, to request the Government to furnish, as a matter of urgency, similar information as to the present position with regard to the other persons referred to as being interned in the earlier complaints submitted, and whose names are set forth in paragraphs 146, 147 and 148 above;
   • (g) to request the Government yet again to furnish detailed information as to the inquiries made into the alleged shooting of Mr. Rabah Djermane and the alleged maltreatment of other trade unionists referred to in paragraph 155 above and as to the results of such inquiries;
   • (h) to request the Government to furnish as early as possible further observations on the specific points raised in the allegations relating to withdrawal of representative status from certain trade union organisations analysed in paragraphs 176 to 181 above;
   • (i) to request the Government to furnish as early as possible extracts from banned issues of L'Ouvrier algérien in the light of its observations as cited in paragraph 190 above;
   • (j) to request the Government to furnish as early as possible its observations on the allegations relating to restrictions on the activities of trade union leaders analysed in paragraph 197 above.