The national radio reported Thursday that the son of Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has been acquitted in a high-profile corruption case in which he was sentenced to prison.
Khaled Tebboune had been in pre-trial detention since June 2018 after a cocaine seizure at an Algerian port.
An Algiers court acquitted him late Wednesday, while the principal accused, Kamel Chikhi, was sentenced to eight years in prison for “paying bribes in exchange for undue services”, in a case relating to construction permits and administrative authorizations.
The prosecutor had called for a two-year prison sentence for Khaled Tebboune, whose father did not have any official role at the time of his arrest.
Chikhi, known as “El Bouchi” (The Butcher), made his fortune in meat imports before becoming involved in property.
He was arrested in June 2018 after the seizure of 700 kilograms of cocaine, found hidden in imported meat.
The investigation exposed a network of influence, with accusations that Chikhi, using cash and property, bought favors from high-level officials, magistrates and others within the regime of former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
Chikhi was sentenced to 10 years in prison last July on separate bribery charges.
Algerians took to the streets over a year ago to demonstrate against ailing Bouteflika’s bid for a fifth term.
The alleged links between Chikhi and Khaled Tebboune earned Abdelmadjid Tebboune the nickname “cocaine president” within the protest movement, which marked its one-year anniversary on February 22.
Bouteflika resigned in April last year after losing the support of the then-army chief in the face of enormous weekly demonstrations.
