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| - Algerian authorities on Sunday arrested three activists from the "Hirak" protest movement, a human rights group said, in the second day of arrests targeting members of the group. Hakik Addad, Zoheir Keddam and Fodil Boumala, who had been arrested in the past, were seized separately by the police, said Said Salhi, vice president of the Algerian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LADDH). The reason for their arrest on Sunday was unknown. Addad is a human rights activist, while Boumala is a journalist and Keddam belongs to the "Silmiya" -- peaceful activists who tried to prevent clashes between protesters and police during months of anti-government demonstrations. Weekly anti-government protests rocked Algeria for more than a year and only stopped in March due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, with the authorities banning marches -- although the opposition already suspended its regular gatherings. On Saturday three other Hirak activists were ordered to be held in pre-trial detention, according to the prisoners' defence group CNLD. They are to go on trial June 17 for incitement, "publication that could damage the national interest" and "endangering the lives of others during the confinement period" against the novel coronavirus, CNLD spokesman Kaci Tansaout said. According to the CNLD, some 60 people are currently detained on charges linked to the protest movement, most of them over posts on Facebook. amb-agr/tp/hkb/cm
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