Algeria: Nasser El-Djinn joins other former intelligence chiefs in prison

Tuesday 15 July 2025 - 16:14

Nasser El-Djinn, the former head of Algeria’s General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI), has been imprisoned, just weeks after his dismissal on May 22. El-Djinn joins four other former intelligence chiefs and dozens of generals who have been dismissed, arrested, and sentenced to prison terms of up to 20 years. These events reflect the fear gripping the Algerian military, where promotion now often leads directly to imprisonment.

El-Djinn, whose violent history dates back to the "Black Decade" (1992-2002), was used as a tool by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and the army’s chief of staff, Saïd Chengriha, over the past four years. His rehabilitation and public exposure were strategic moves designed to instill fear in the Algerian people. Already oppressed by draconian practices, citizens were less likely to tolerate the return of the atrocities committed during the dark period of Algeria’s civil war.

In 2021, upon his return from Spain, Nasser El-Djinn was appointed to head the "death machine" (the Ben Aknoun Military Investigation Center), a notorious torture center in Algiers where he had operated during the 1990s, while the Hirak movement was still active.

El-Djinn was never the right person to lead the DGSI. His specialty lay in violent field operations, brutal arrests, harsh interrogations, and even the execution of political opponents. Numerous testimonies from former military officers attribute to him the grim practice of executing anyone arrested with a bullet to the head, a method also favored by Saïd Chengriha.

Therefore, the confirmation of his imprisonment is not necessarily bad news, although the reasons for his sudden downfall remain the subject of much speculation.

It is also not a surprise, as Algeria is the only country in the world where five former intelligence chiefs (from the domestic, external, and military security branches) are currently incarcerated, some facing heavy sentences. Among them are Generals Wassini Bouazza (DGSI), Abdelkader Haddad (DGSI), Mohamed Bouzit (DDSE), Benmiloud Othmane (DCSA), and Colonel Nabil Boubekeur (DCSA).

The same fate may soon befall General Djebbar M’henna, who was dismissed from the External Security and Documentation Directorate (DDSE) on September 19 last year, only 12 days after Tebboune’s chaotic second presidential appointment.