Mathilde Panot, a senior Member of Parliament for France's radical left opposition party La France Insoumise (LFI) ('France Unbowed'), travelled to Algeria to show her solidarity for the people taking part in the 'Hirak' or popular movement against the regime there. But after two days she and her delegation were arrested and taken to the capital Algiers where she was effectively placed under house arrest in an hotel. After an intervention by France's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mathilde Panot was eventually put on a plane back to France. Mediapart's Rachida El Azzouzi, Pauline Graulle and Khedidja Zerouali report on events which highlight the continuing repression of opposition voices in Algeria.
Mathilde Panot, a senior Member of Parliament for France's radical left opposition party La France Insoumise (LFI) ('France Unbowed'), was arrested in Algeria and later expelled after meeting protestors opposed to the current regime in the North African country. Manot, who is vice-president of the LFI's Parliamentary group, and her delegation were arrested on October 1st, less than two days after her arrival at Bejaïa in the north of the country. She and her team were then taken to the capital Algiers and effectively placed under house arrest in an hotel by the Algerian authorities.
