Algeria ex-presidential candidate jailed for four years

Ali Ghediri planned to stand in the delayed 2019 elections before his arrest

A man walks past newspapers headlining on former Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's death, in Algiers, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021. Algeria's leader declared a three-day period of mourning starting Saturday for former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, whose 20-year-long rule, riddled with corruption, ended in disgrace as he was pushed from power amid huge street protests when he decided to seek a new term. Bouteflika, who had been ailing since a stroke in 2013, died Friday at 84. (AP Photo / Fateh Guidoum)Show less

An Algiers court on Thursday sentenced a former presidential candidate and retired general to four years in prison for undermining army morale, the official APS news agency reported.

Ali Ghediri had said he would stand in Algeria's April 2019 election against longtime president Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

Bouteflika died last week, aged 84.

His decision to seek a fifth mandate led to mass protests against Bouteflika's rule and he later stepped down under army pressure.

Ghediri, detained since June 2019, appeared in court on Thursday accused of "participating during peacetime in undertakings aimed at weakening army morale", APS said.

The prosecution had requested a sentence of seven years.

Ghediri was a political novice without a strong support structure to back him when he threw his hat into the ring against Bouteflika.

He said he wanted to "break the system" and "build a second republic".

In a late 2018 interview with El Watan newspaper, Ghediri hit out at speculation that the April election might be postponed and Bouteflika's mandate extended, suggesting he expected the army to stop any such move.

The comments earned him a rebuke from the defence ministry, which threatened to go to court if rules on the conduct of former military officers were breached.

Bouteflika delayed the April elections indefinitely after the Hirak pro-democracy protest movement broke out in February that year.

Then interim president Abdelkader Bensalah scheduled a new vote for July but the country's constitutional council cancelled it, citing a lack of candidates.

An election was eventually held in December 2019, with Abdelmadjid Tebboune declared the winner.

Bensalah died on Wednesday, aged 79.