Algerian presidency receives requests from missing persons' families

The Algerian presidency received a petition yesterday, including the requests of the families of missing persons, who want to learn the fate of their family members who were lost under strange circumstances.

The petition called on the government to present those whose are detained by security bodies to the judiciary, to see if they have committed crimes or misdemeanors.

The families of the missing persons attempted to hold a march on May 1 headed by members of the leftist Labor Party at Glof headquarters, where the presidency is located, but the security forces prevented the march. The forces failed to scatter the families until the head of the Labor Party, People's Assembly member Lowiza Hanon, convinced the families to avoid confrontation and head to her party's headquarters.

Mrs. Hanon said that she has files documenting 287 cases of disappearances and kidnapping.