Hommam Al Nassim 
Algeria’s Court of Appeal has sentenced Benflis, son of Ali Benflis, a former prime minister and presidential candidate, to twenty years in prison.
The verdict follows an amendment to the penal code, where the son was convicted on charges of high treason, collusion with foreign entities to harm national interests and money laundering.
Prosecutors presented evidence from Benflis’ phone showing in photos with Israeli and French officials, prompting accusations of selling sensitive information related to the deal to buy civilian aircraft.
The case involved other defendants, including officials of the state airline, where prison sentences ranging from three to seven years were handed down for their involvement in collusion to sell secrets related to the security and economy of the state.
According to the investigation, Benflis obtained the information of the deal illegally with the aim of selling it to foreign airlines in exchange for large sums of money.
During the trial at first instance, prosecutors noted that he agreed to receive a $50 million commission for this information, and that he dealt with sensitive state secrets, which carries the death penalty.
Benflis categorically denied the charges against him, claiming that his visits to Jerusalem were for religious purposes and that the evidence against him was fabricated, and rejected accusations of using money laundering funds in his father’s 2019 election campaign.
He holds Canadian citizenship, runs a studies office, and has business relations with the Algerian state airline, and his father, Ali Benflis, served as Algerian Prime Minister from August 26, 2000, to May 5, 2003.
Ali Benflis was secretary-general of the FLN from 2001 to 2004.
Benflis ran for the Algerian presidential elections several times, most recently in 2019 when he came in third place with 10.55% of the vote.
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