Algiers – Paris, July 31, 2025
Coalition of Families of the Disappeared in Algeria (CFDA) and the Euro-Mediterranean Federation Against Enforced Disappearances (FEMED) strongly condemn the arbitrary expulsion of their president, Nassera Dutour, which occurred on July 30, 2025, at Houari Boumediene Airport in Algiers.
Nassera Dutour, born as Yous, is the mother of a disappeared person. Her son, Amine Amrouche, was arrested in January 1997 and remains missing to this day, like thousands of other Algerians. Since then, she has tirelessly sought the truth about her son’s fate and that of all the others disappeared. A committed activist for nearly three decades, Nassera Dutour carries within herself the struggle of thousands of Algerian families devastated by the disappearance of their loved ones, dedicating her life to the pursuit of truth and justice.
Upon her arrival at the border post at 4:30 p.m. (Algerian time), Nassera Dutour was detained for three hours by the police and interrogated, before being sent back to France on Air France flight AF 1455 — without any justification. In blatant violation of Article 49 of the Algerian Constitution and Law No. 08-11 of 25 June 2008 on the conditions of entry, stay, and movement of foreigners in Algeria — the law invoked by the police to legitimize her return to France — such a refoulement is entirely unjustifiable: Nassera Dutour is an Algerian national and poses no threat to public order. She presented herself lawfully to the border authorities and was not subject to any entry ban into the national territory.
The forcible expulsion of Nassera Dutour at the border of her own country sets a dangerous precedent. Beyond the personal humiliation inflicted on a woman who has dedicated her life to the memory of the disappeared, this event signals a radicalization of the authoritarian drift underway in Algeria. This act clearly demonstrates the Algerian authorities’ intent to silence civil society, obstruct the legitimate activities of human rights defenders, and suppress those who denounce the impunity surrounding enforced disappearance crimes. It symbolizes a regime that continues to evade its history and chooses to punish those who, with dignity and perseverance, refuse to forget and demand justice.
During the civil war that ravaged Algeria in the 1990s, over 8,000 people—whose fate remains unknown to this day—were forcibly disappeared, torn away from their families and loved ones by the Algerian authorities. Since then, Nassera Dutour has stood steadfastly alongside the victims and their families, both in Algeria and across the broader Euro-Mediterranean region. She tirelessly fights to give voice to the disappeared, in the face of the deafening silence of Algerian and regional authorities, who are unable to confront their own history and unwilling to face the ghosts of their own citizens. Nassera Dutour embodies the living memory that authoritarian powers seek to erase, the demand for truth that impunity fears. Her presence in Algeria is unsettling, not because she threatens public order, but because she challenges the policy of forgetting with the perseverance of families, the inalienable right to know, and the dignity of victims who are still denied recognition.
The CFDA and FEMED remind that freedom of expression and association are fundamental rights, essential to any society that respects the rule of law. The work of human rights defenders, far from being criminalized, must be protected and valued in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders (1998).
In the face of this blatant violation of international law, the CFDA and FEMED call on all human rights organizations, international institutions, and the diplomatic community to :
- Publicly condemn this arbitrary expulsion to ensure Nassera Dutour can freely travel within her own country;
- Support the CFDA and its members in their struggle for truth and justice in Algeria;
- Demand that the Algerian authorities respect their international human rights commitments.
« My son has disappeared. And now, they try to erase me too. But as long as I can speak, I will. For him. For the others. For memory. For justice. » – Nassera Dutour
The teams of : the Coalition of families of the disappeared people in Algeria (CFDA), Euro-mediterranean Federation Against Enforced Disappearances (FEMED).
Image source: Image taken from the website of the NGO Riposte Internationale – www.riposte-internationale.org.