Tabbou, like most other leaders of Algeria’s pro-reform Hirak protests (2019-20), has been consistently harassed and persecuted by the state with arrests and jail terms

The elections saw only 30.2% of voters taking part, with almost 18 million of a total of 24.5 million choosing to not vote, in line with the boycott call by the Hirak movement and some leftist parties

Karim Tabbou was arrested on Wednesday in connection with a complaint filed against him for allegedly misbehaving with a government official in public. He was subsequently charged on eight counts including slander

Tabbou, the leader of the the Democratic Social Union party, is a prominent face of the Hirak protests that began last year. Following the deposition of long-time president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the protesters have continued to demand structural change