SPORTS DIPLOMACY IN ALGERIAN PRISONS: AN IV

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ALGIERS 000104 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR DRL, INL, ECA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM SCUL KPAO AG SUBJECT: SPORTS DIPLOMACY IN ALGERIAN PRISONS: AN IV SUCCESS STORY ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Ideas gained through the International Visitor (IV) Program are contributing tangibly to Algerian efforts to reduce violence and combat radicalization within the prison system, through sports diplomacy in particular. Some of Algiers' most notorious prisons have been organizing soccer matches with the cooperation of a local NGO, Ouled El Houma. When Director General of Prisons Mokhtar Felioune gave a press conference on January 26 to highlight a new sports program for prisoners aimed at reducing prison violence, Ouled El Houma president Abderrahmane Bergui gave a presentation on the project and noted that his idea to engage prisoners in sports activities was based on his experience as a State Department International Visitor (IV) program participant. Felioune told the press that the program was unique for Algeria and "greatly contributed to a decrease in violence and a new vision for prison life." While our past efforts to engage Algeria on prison reform have met with limited success, a single-country IV program on prisoner counter-radicalization and subsequent reintegration could mesh well with current Algerian Justice Ministry priorities. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) Prison reform remains a priority for Algeria's Ministry of Justice, whose officials seem willing to embrace new ideas from international sources to address systemic problems in Algeria's prisons. Together with local NGO Ouled El Houma, the Ministry of Justice has piloted a program that uses sports as a way to reduce violence in prisons and help rehabilitate prisoners. Ouled El Houma is an Algerian association that has experience working with at-risk youth through various sports programs. The NGO's president, Abderrahmane Bergui, said he thought his organization's experience might be applicable in prisons and offered his services to the Ministry of Justice and adapt his youth programs for prisoners. THE LONGEST YARD -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The result of this collaboration has been a series of soccer matches between prisoners held at some of Algeria's most notorious prisons, including Serkadj prison, the oldest jail in Algiers, and El Harrach, widely considered the toughest prison in Algiers. Speaking at the press conference, Bergui gave a video presentation of the project and admitted that the idea was not his own, but rather, one that he observed when he was a participant in a State Department IV program. Bergui called the visit "one of the most enriching experiences of his life." As he explained how he came to the idea of applying what he learned in the U.S., Bergui asked the audience of reporters and others, "if it worked in a prison in Santa Fe, why couldn't it work in Algiers?" ¶4. (SBU) Prisons Director General Felioune cited the Ouled El Houma project as one example of Algeria's effort to implement prison reform and reiterated the Ministry of Justice commitment to ensuring reform efforts succeed. Felioune said battling recidivism and helping prisoners reintegrate into society were key concerns at the top of his reform agenda, adding that these issues were also priorities for President Bouteflika. Felioune said that 20,000 prisoners are enrolled in preparatory courses to pass the high school equivalency exam (BAC) or the middle school equivalency exam (BEF). Another 14,000 prisoners, Felioune added, take advantage of vocational training to learn masonry, carpentry and plumbing trades. Finding employment remains one of the most difficult challenges for ex-cons, especially among those who have spent more than five years in prison. Although recidivism is slightly less among those who have served less than three-year sentences, a musical performer affiliated with Ouled El Houma who works with prisoners said the best that most prisoners can hope for in terms of employment after release is to work as a security guard for a private company. COMMENT -------------- ALGIERS 00000104 002 OF 002 ¶5. (SBU) Prison reform is a priority for Algeria and an area in which we have tried to engage the government in the past, albeit with limited success. Algeria, however, is engaged with other foreign missions on prison reform, and prison officials toured both French and British prisons in 2008 as part of the country's plan to build 88 new prisons. The European Union is implementing a 17 million euro program to modernize Algeria's prison infrastructure, and the British government provides expertise on prisoner management, overcrowding and improving prison conditions in general. UNDP is also engaged on the issue, helping to improve the Ministry of Justice's information management system, which includes prisons. The Ouled El Houma project highlights an opening to use resources such as a single-country IV program to further develop prison counter-radicalization activities that also focus on re-integrating convicts into society. PEARCE