A man identified as Faouzi Zegout set himself on fire outside Algeria’s justice ministry in Algiers to protest what he described as a case of “injustice.”
Zegout, a resident of Frenda, poured petrol over himself near the government building and set himself ablaze after claiming that a judge had arbitrarily threatened him with a 10-year prison sentence for organizing a fundraiser without official permission.
Security guards quickly responded and extinguished the flames, and Zegout was taken to the Algiers burns hospital, where he is reportedly doing well.
In a video filmed before the incident, Zegout explained that his action was intended to draw the attention of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to his case.
The incident has sparked conversations on judicial transparency and civil liberties in Algeria, where acts of self-immolation are rare, unlike in neighboring Tunisia.
