ALGIERS – The services of national police managed to thwart a plot orchestrated by the French intelligence services aimed at destabilizing Algeria by enlisting a young Algerian man, who grew up abroad, to service their hostile purposes.
However, he showed great vigilance in the face of the malicious activities targeting his country.
In a documentary broadcast on the Algerian Television (EPTV) and “AL24” international channel, Aissaoui Mohamed Amine, aged 35, unveiled the details of the French services’ attempts to recruit him. They exploited the painful circumstances he had lived before when he was instrumentalized in Europe to join a terrorist organization.
Originating from the province of Tipaza, Amine recounted emigrating with his family to Spain at an early age. He grew up there and became the target of the “Daech” terrorist organization. After having conversations with a member of this organization on social networks, he found himself fighting in Syria and Iraq.
In his testimony, Aissaoui recounted his enrolling circumstances, his departure from Spain to France, then Turkey, Syria and finally Iraq, where he participated in fights in Fallujah under the nickname of “Abu Rayan”. Wounded in the bombardment by Iraqi coalition forces and al-Hashd al-Shaabi militias, he was captured and transferred to Turkey.
In Turkey, he was taken to the consulates of France and Spain for identification, where fingerprints and photos were taken and an information sheet was drawn up on him. He was subsequently jailed in Turkey where he was informed of the international arrest warrant issued against him.
Aissaoui said that a representative of the Algerian consulate then visited him and offered him repatriation to Algeria, an offer he accepted without hesitation. Back home, he served a three-year prison sentence, completed in 2019, before gradually returning to normal life.
But no sooner had he emerged from the nightmare of Syria and Iraq and served his sentence, than he found himself in the crosshairs of French intelligence services looking to recruit him. Thanks to his past experience and awareness of the true intentions of these intelligence services, as well as the proactive vigilance and professional work of the Algerian security services, this plot was foiled.
In 2022, he was contacted by the French association “Artémis”, known for its dubious activities towards individuals involved in terrorist affairs on French territory. This association, led by Bouyad Jean Gilles, a former adviser to former French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, is involved in attempts to get in touch with Algerians with terrorist backgrounds.
The association’s active members include Rachid Benzine, a naturalized French Moroccan who was recently honored by the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, for his “contributions in the field of scientific research.”
According to the information gathered, several members of this suspect association are former employees of the French Ministry of Interior or still work there.
The young man explained that he had not hesitated to collaborate with the association, all the more so as he had learned that his file was classified as a “black file” within the French Ministry of Defense. The association promised to help him regularize his situation, which could enable him to return to his family home in Spain and turn the page on his past once and for all.
The documentary revealed that all interactions between Mohamed Amine and French intelligence services were monitored. Footage shows their first meeting in April 2023 in Algiers, under the cover of the “Artémis” association. The guy with whom he met was an executive from the French General Directorate of External Security, working as First Secretary at the French Embassy in Algeria.
According to Mohamed Amine, this French agent took him directly to the French cultural center, where they had a long discussion before the agent revealed to him that he belonged to the French intelligence services.
The security services kept in touch with the young man and instructed him to continue collaborating with the French parties while passing on all communications and messages exchanged via WhatsApp. Mohamed Amine confirmed that the French had asked him to travel to Niger, approach extremists in Algiers to gain their trust and provide information on surveillance cameras and plainclothes police patrols, among other missions.
He also indicated that he was constantly informing the Algerian security services of the conspirators’ plans. Thanks to this collaboration, the plot was frustrated, marking a resounding victory for the Algerian security services.
This affair “clearly reveals a deep-seated resentment, as well as the extent of the plots and maneuvers hatched against Algeria,” he said.
He affirmed that “the awareness of the Algerian people and the cohesion of the internal front, as well as the vigilance and professionalism of the security services, have thwarted all attempts to undermine the security and stability of our country.”
