Algerian court orders arrest of ex-defense minister

By Hassan Jibril

ALGIERS (AA) - An Algerian military court on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant against former defense minister Khaled Nezzar and his son on charges of conspiracy and disruption of public order.

The arrest was issued by the military court in Blida, south of capital Algiers.

A few weeks ago, Nezzar and his family traveled to Spain for therapeutic purposes, according to local media, and has not returned to Algeria since then.

On July 26, the former minister tweeted that Algerian authorities were planning to arrest him, prompting him not to return to the country.

"I was about to return to Algeria when I received credible information about an arbitrary and unfair detention project targeting me," he said.

Nezzar had served as minister of defense from 1990 to 1993.