tycoon

An Algerian prosecutor requested Monday that a business tycoon linked to ousted leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika be sentenced to 18 months in prison for “forgery”, according to an AFP correspondent.

Ali Haddad, who owns Algeria’s largest private construction company, has been detained since his arrest on March 31 while trying to cross into Tunisia, days before Bouteflika stepped down in the face of country-wide protests.

He was carrying two passports — which is forbidden under Algerian law — and is also accused of carrying undeclared foreign currency.

“This is a political trial, the charge of fraud has no (legal) basis,” Haddad’s …