A military court in Algeria cleared Said Bouteflika, former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika's brother, of conspiracy charges on Saturday following a retrial, the official "Algerie Presse Service" agency reported.
"The Military Court of Blida has acquitted the defendants Saïd Bouteflika, Mohamed Mediène, Athmane Tartag and Louisa Hanoune following the reopening of their appeal trial for "harming the Army’s authority” and "conspiracy against the authority of the State,” defense lawyer Khaled Bourghel told APS.
The former presidential assistant was widely seen as the real one running the North African country after his brother Abdelaziz Bouteflika suffered a debilitating stroke in 2013.
However, Saïd was detained in May 2019, a month after Bouteflika quit office following mass protests against his bid for a fifth presidential term.
The four defendants were accused of plotting in March 2019 to "destabilise" the army's high command, then headed by General Ahmed Gaid Salah, which was publicly demanding that the president steps down.
He was sentenced with two former intelligence chiefs along with another politician to 15 years in prison, and a court later upheld that ruling.
Last November, the supreme court said the 4 defendants would be retried after appeals.
"After deliberations, the court... rescinded the original ruling and acquitted all the defendants," lawyer Khaled Berghel told APS.
Despite being cleared of this charge, Bouteflika is to remain in custody as he awaits a separate trial over alleged corruption during his brother's rule.
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