Mohamed Samraoui (born 1953) is a former member of the Algerian secret services ( Intelligence and Security Directorate, DRS) who wrote a book claiming that the DRS had been involved in torture and extralegal killings, and had manipulated the

Armed Islamic Group The Armed Islamic Group (GIA, from french: Groupe Islamique Armé; ar, الجماعة الإسلامية المسلّحة, al-Jamāʿa l-ʾIslāmiyya l-Musallaḥa) was one of the two main Islamist insurgent groups that fought the Algerian gove ...

s on a large scale to commit further massacres.

Biography

He joined the Algerian army in July 1974. After studying biochemistry and going through officer training, he became an instructor at a Military Security school (''Sécurité Militaire'' (SM), the army's secret service) at Beni-Messous, and rose through the SM's ranks, moving to various towns as his postings changed. From March 1990 to July 1992, he worked in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

in the counterespionage bureau, as well as becoming part of the

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

administration from 1991 on. In 1992, he asked to resign, but was not permitted to do so; instead, he accepted a posting to the Algerian embassy in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

as military attaché and advisor, eventually reaching the position of Lt. Colonel in the DRS. In 1995, he reports that he was asked by Smaine Lamari to assassinate two

FIS FIS or fis may refer to: Science and technology * '' Fis'', an ''E. Coli'' gene * Fis phenomenon, a phenomenon in linguistics * F♯ (musical note) * Flight information service, an air traffic control service * Frame Information Structure, a ...

leaders abroad,

Abdelbaki Sahraoui Abdelbaki Sahraoui ( ar, عبد الباقي صحرواي) was a co-founder of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in Algeria. He was born in 1910 in Constantine, Algeria. In 1926, he joined the circle of Sheikh Mubarak el-Mili. Five years later, ...

and

Rabah Kebir Rabah Kebir ( ar, رابح كبير) was an Algerian islamic leader, and a former leader of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), an islamic Algerian party which won the elections in the nineties. The dissolution of the FIS by military decree after it ...

. On 12 February 1996, he left his post and sought political

asylum in Germany The right of asylum for victims of Political repression, political persecution is a basic right stipulated in the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, Constitution of Germany. In a wider sense, the right of asylum recognises the defini ...

. In 2003, he published a book, '' Chronique des années de sang'', attributing a variety of misdeeds, including the majority of the assassinations and massacres attributed to Islamists, to the Algerian secret services in the course of the

Algerian Civil War The Algerian Civil War ( ar, rtl=yes, الْحَرْبُ الْأَهْلِيَّةُ الجَزَائِرِيَّةُ, al-Ḥarb al-ʾAhlīyah al-Jazāʾirīyah) was a civil war in Algeria fought between the Algerian government and various Is ...

. On 22 October 2007, Samraoui was arrested by Spanish police whilst attending a meeting in the town of

Benalmádena Benalmádena () is a town in Andalusia in southern Spain, 12 km west of Málaga, on the Costa del Sol between Torremolinos and Fuengirola. Benalmádena is rich in attractive beaches and interesting places like the Colomares Castle, the 33-met ...

in Southern

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It is believed that the arrest was in response to a request from

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...

that had come from the Algerian authorities. Samraoui is currently under conditional release in Spain awaiting the outcome of the extradition request presented by the Algerian authorities. He was not allowed to return to his home and family in Germany whilst this request was being dealt with by the Spanish judicial system. However, in early December 2007 Samraoui decided to return to Germany claiming that he had been warned that he could be in danger if he remained in Spain. Samraoui is a

correspondence chess Correspondence chess is chess played by various forms of long-distance correspondence, traditionally through the postal system. Today it is usually played through a correspondence chess server, a public internet chess forum, or email. Less common ...

player and received the chess title of

Senior International Correspondence Chess Master International Correspondence Chess Federation (ICCF) was founded on 26 March 1951 as a new appearance of the International Correspondence Chess Association (ICCA), which was founded in 1945, as successor of the Internationaler Fernschachbund (I ...

in 2003. He was the President of

International Correspondence Chess Federation International Correspondence Chess Federation (ICCF) was founded on 26 March 1951 as a new appearance of the International Correspondence Chess Association (ICCA), which was founded in 1945, as successor of the Internationaler Fernschachbund (IF ...

from 2005-2008.

Notes

References

Lutte des clans : Un témoignage du colonel Samraoui intéresse BouteflikaRachad - Samraoui, MohamedPhoney war on terrorChroniques des années de sang
(his book)
Tamazgha: Mohammed Samraoui : "Chronique d’un repenti, fonctionnaire du crime"
* * ttp://www.publico.es/internacional/022174/en/espana/pisoteado/derechos/refugiado/politico El Público: "En España se han pisoteado mis derechos como refugiado político"br>El Público: "El disidente argelino, Samraoui, huye sin permiso del juez"

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Samraoui, Mohamed 1953 births Living people Algerian activists Algerian intelligence agency personnel 21st-century Algerian people