We are pleased to learn that Katia ALIK, a Kabyle activist who was sentenced in absentia to 20 years in prison by the Algerian colonial court of Dar El Beïda in October 2022, has arrived safely in Canada after several years on the run to avoid imprisonment in Algiers.
Her only “crime”: being Kabyle and committed to the freedom of her people.
At the time, she was a student who joined the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylia (MAK). Her courageous commitment exposed her to the repression of the Algerian regime, which convicted her on baseless charges of terrorism.
Today, we are relieved that she is safe and her life has been spared. However, our heartfelt thoughts go out to all the other prisoners of conscience still languishing in Algerian jails, as well as to those who remain in hiding.