Algerian opposition figure Hichem Aboud questioned in Paris following attempted murder in Roubaix
Algerian opposition figure Hichem Aboud was heard by a counterterrorism judge in Paris, following an attempted murder targeting him in February 2025 in Roubaix.
Hichem Aboud before the counterterrorism judge: a "contract" attributed to the Algerian regime
Algerian opposition figure Hichem Aboud appeared on Friday before an investigating judge specialising in counterterrorism in Paris, as part of a judicial inquiry into an attempted murder committed in February 2025 in Roubaix, in northern France, according to libe.ma, citing an AFP journalist present at the scene.
A former officer with Algerian secret services turned critical journalist, Aboud has lived in France since the 1990s, where he holds a residence permit. He briefly returned to Algeria in 2011 to found two newspapers, both suspended in 2013, before leaving again under threat of legal proceedings.
Following his hearing, Aboud unambiguously identified the Algerian regime as the instigator of the attack. "If anyone can point me towards a lead other than the Algerian regime, let them come and convince me," he told AFP. "I have no other enemy than the Algerian regime and its proxies. Even those implicated in the case acknowledge that they do not know me. They do not know why they did it," he added.
Four individuals are implicated in this inquiry: three young people being prosecuted for attempted murder as part of an organised group in connection with a terrorist enterprise, and a fourth for complicity and association with a terrorist criminal organisation, a judicial source had clarified to AFP in May.
The "contract on" Aboud's head was discovered by chance by investigators working on the robbery of a museum in November 2024, near Lyon. Analysis of the encrypted messaging service Signal made it possible to identify a team of alleged perpetrators, one of whom was to shoot for 10,000 euros. In February 2025, this group travelled to Roubaix with "an instruction to kill and an address," but the plan failed as Aboud was absent that day, according to sources close to the case.
Aboud had moreover filed a complaint with constitution of civil party status for "attempted assassination" in Liège, Belgium, in 2021. On Friday, the counterterrorism judge confirmed to him that he was also handling this case, which Aboud welcomed to AFP.
This case takes place within a context of persistent tensions between Paris and Algiers. French sports journalist Christophe Gleizes has been incarcerated since June 2025 after a conviction for "apology of terrorism" in Algeria. Opposition figure Amir Boukhors, known as "Amir DZ," was for his part abducted on 29 April 2024 in the Parisian region before being released on 1 May. Like Aboud, Amir DZ has been the subject since March 2022 of an Algerian arrest warrant for alleged membership of a terrorist group.
Source: Google News MA — Crime (fr)