Just days after the Algerian Interior Ministry stated that Colonel Ali Tounsi had been killed in a meeting, the ministry's head said there were no eyewitnesses.
By Walid Ramzi for Magharebia in Algiers – 03/03/10
Algerian Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni on Tuesday (March 2nd) promised "full transparency" in the probe of the murder of Colonel Ali Tounsi, but contradicted previous ministry reports that seemed to place eyewitnesses at the scene.
"The crime was without witnesses," Zerhouni said of the February 25th killing of the country's national security director.
Zerhouni's statement to the press, made on the sidelines of a session of Parliament, contradicts the ministry's earlier claim that the killing happened in a meeting in Tounsi's office.
A previous official statement said the official "died at 10:45 a.m. during a working session, during which a police official, apparently having a fit of madness, used his weapon and killed Colonel Ali Tounsi, then injured himself very seriously".
Media reports also indicate the presence of witnesses. Investigators began "interviewing witnesses and other people present during the incident", according to the local newspaper Echourouk.
Abed Rabou Abed El Illah, in another Echourouk article, claimed to have witnessed the incident. The alleged shooter, who Abed El Illah identified as Colonel Chaib Oueltache, was "mentally disturbed," he said. Tounsi was moved from his office to the first floor of the building in an attempt to save his life, Abed El Illah said.
Minister Zerhouni also named Colonel Oultache as the culprit.
"The assassination of Colonel Ali Tounsi, the director of national security, by Colonel Chaib Oultache was due to a personal disagreement," said Zerhouni.
Local media report that Oultache killed Tounsi for firing him from his position as head of the national security aviation unit.
Tounsi, after investigating Oultache, had "confirmed his involvement in corruption cases pertaining to arms deals," according to Echourouk. "The investigation findings implicated the offender in a number of suspicious transactions for acquiring spare parts for helicopters and maintenance and intelligence equipment."
Oultache and his son were involved in suspicious transactions to supply the police with information technology, according to Al Nahar Al Jadid. The offender's son had operated as a middleman between the Directorate-General of Police and foreign companies in exchange for millions of dollars in kickbacks and bribes, the newspaper reported.
Oultache attempted suicide during the incident and suffered gunshot wounds, according to Zerhouni. The suspect "is alive and his health is improving, and he will stand trial once he recovers," said the minister.
The incident surprised those familiar with both men, who were reportedly close friends.
"This tragedy is unique, unprecedented, and confusing for many reasons," wrote the general manager of Djazair News, H'mida El Ayachi. "[T]hey had a strong friendship, built – according to what a number of the national security members stated – on mutual trust."
Tounsi appointed Oultache to lead the national security aviation unit after the latter had retired. "Tounsi ordered the offender to train police air units as a part of a project that started years ago to include hundreds of helicopters in police work to facilitate the activities of traffic and patrol units, and homicide investigation units," Djazair News reported.
The head of Civil Defense, Mustapha Lahbiri, praised Tounsi at his funeral on Friday.
"The late Ali Tounsi devoted his life to this country during the revolution, and after independence," he said.
Minister for Local Assemblies Daho Ould Kablia also mourned the loss.
"Colonel Ali Tounsi does not deserve the way he died and Algeria does not deserve this tragedy," he said.
Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/03/03/feature-01.
By Walid Ramzi for Magharebia in Algiers – 03/03/10
Algerian Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni on Tuesday (March 2nd) promised "full transparency" in the probe of the murder of Colonel Ali Tounsi, but contradicted previous ministry reports that seemed to place eyewitnesses at the scene.
"The crime was without witnesses," Zerhouni said of the February 25th killing of the country's national security director.
Zerhouni's statement to the press, made on the sidelines of a session of Parliament, contradicts the ministry's earlier claim that the killing happened in a meeting in Tounsi's office.
A previous official statement said the official "died at 10:45 a.m. during a working session, during which a police official, apparently having a fit of madness, used his weapon and killed Colonel Ali Tounsi, then injured himself very seriously".
Media reports also indicate the presence of witnesses. Investigators began "interviewing witnesses and other people present during the incident", according to the local newspaper Echourouk.
Abed Rabou Abed El Illah, in another Echourouk article, claimed to have witnessed the incident. The alleged shooter, who Abed El Illah identified as Colonel Chaib Oueltache, was "mentally disturbed," he said. Tounsi was moved from his office to the first floor of the building in an attempt to save his life, Abed El Illah said.
Minister Zerhouni also named Colonel Oultache as the culprit.
"The assassination of Colonel Ali Tounsi, the director of national security, by Colonel Chaib Oultache was due to a personal disagreement," said Zerhouni.
Local media report that Oultache killed Tounsi for firing him from his position as head of the national security aviation unit.
Tounsi, after investigating Oultache, had "confirmed his involvement in corruption cases pertaining to arms deals," according to Echourouk. "The investigation findings implicated the offender in a number of suspicious transactions for acquiring spare parts for helicopters and maintenance and intelligence equipment."
Oultache and his son were involved in suspicious transactions to supply the police with information technology, according to Al Nahar Al Jadid. The offender's son had operated as a middleman between the Directorate-General of Police and foreign companies in exchange for millions of dollars in kickbacks and bribes, the newspaper reported.
Oultache attempted suicide during the incident and suffered gunshot wounds, according to Zerhouni. The suspect "is alive and his health is improving, and he will stand trial once he recovers," said the minister.
The incident surprised those familiar with both men, who were reportedly close friends.
"This tragedy is unique, unprecedented, and confusing for many reasons," wrote the general manager of Djazair News, H'mida El Ayachi. "[T]hey had a strong friendship, built – according to what a number of the national security members stated – on mutual trust."
Tounsi appointed Oultache to lead the national security aviation unit after the latter had retired. "Tounsi ordered the offender to train police air units as a part of a project that started years ago to include hundreds of helicopters in police work to facilitate the activities of traffic and patrol units, and homicide investigation units," Djazair News reported.
The head of Civil Defense, Mustapha Lahbiri, praised Tounsi at his funeral on Friday.
"The late Ali Tounsi devoted his life to this country during the revolution, and after independence," he said.
Minister for Local Assemblies Daho Ould Kablia also mourned the loss.
"Colonel Ali Tounsi does not deserve the way he died and Algeria does not deserve this tragedy," he said.
Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/03/03/feature-01.
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