Algerian authorities have initiated a counterterrorism investigation after a man’s self-immolation, suspected to be a coordinated plot with foreign links, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Faouzi Zegout was injured on June 1 after setting himself on fire outside the justice ministry in Algiers to protest a legal case.
A video circulating online showed Zegout claiming the act was due to a judge’s “arbitrary” 10-year prison sentence threat.
An Algiers court heard that five people were detained in connection with the case; one has since been released under judicial supervision, and the case was transferred to a counterterrorism division.
Prosecutors alleged the act was orchestrated by an “organised criminal group” with suspected foreign ties, aiming to “disturb public order and disrupt institutions” through filming and publishing the self-immolation online.
Charges include “endangering lives” and “publishing false news.”
The person who filmed allegedly “communicated with people abroad,” had “multiple bank accounts,” and “received money transfers.”
Zegout had recently appeared in court for an unauthorized fundraiser, with his hometown court scheduled to deliver a decision on the day of the incident.