Missing Algerian parliamentary candidate found dead

By Abdul Razzaq bin Abdullah

ALGIERS

A parliamentary candidate from Algeria’s ruling party was found dead Wednesday evening after having disappeared under mysterious circumstances last month, according to security sources quoted by Algeria’s state press.

"Police found the dead body of Mohammed Saeed Goudar, who had been missing since March 30, in a local forest," Algeria’s official news agency quoted Abdullah bin Nasser, director of security for the coastal Bejaia province, as saying late Wednesday.

Shortly before his disappearance, Goudar had registered to compete in May 4 parliamentary elections for Algeria’s ruling National Liberation Front (FLN).

On March 30, Goudar’s family informed police that he had vanished from outside the ruling party's office in Bejaia, which is located some 250 kilometers east of capital Algiers.

According to bin Nasser, subsequent investigations led to the arrest of five suspects who later guided police to where Goudar’s dead body had been dumped.

The security director said the incident constituted "a political crime," ordering Bejaia’s attorney-general to conduct an autopsy with a view to determining the circumstances of Goudar’s death.

The ruling FLN, for its part, has not issued a statement on the incident, with party head Gamal Ould Abbas merely voicing concern last week over “the fate of the party's candidate".

By Abdul Razzaq bin Abdullah

ALGIERS

Shortly before his disappearance, Goudar had registered to compete in May 4 parliamentary elections for Algeria’s ruling National Liberation Front (FLN).

On March 30, Goudar’s family informed police that he had vanished from outside the ruling party's office in Bejaia, which is located some 250 kilometers east of capital Algiers.

According to bin Nasser, subsequent investigations led to the arrest of five suspects who later guided police to where Goudar’s dead body had been dumped.

The security director said the incident constituted "a political crime," ordering Bejaia’s attorney-general to conduct an autopsy with a view to determining the circumstances of Goudar’s death.

The ruling FLN, for its part, has not issued a statement on the incident, with party head Gamal Ould Abbas merely voicing concern last week over “the fate of the party's candidate".