His only crime was teaching Kabyle dance.
On 18 August 2024, Omar Ait Yahia, a Kabyle dance teacher known by the pseudonym Assalas, was sentenced by the Azazga court in the wilaya of Tizi-Ouzou to 18 months’ imprisonment and a fine.
It should be noted that he has been in pre-trial detention since 21 April 2024 and was arrested on entering Algeria.
A reminder:
The famous French-Algerian dancer and teacher of Kabyle dance, Omar Ait Yahia, known as Assalas, has been in pre-trial detention in Tizi-Ouzou prison since 21 April 2024.
A resident of France, he was arrested on entering Algeria and brought before the public prosecutor at the Tizi-Ouzou court, then before the investigating judge at the same court, who issued an order placing him under a committal order.
An active member of several associations, he is accused of belonging to an organisation that has been labelled a terrorist by the regime.
According to his friends, although he is deeply Kabyle, he is an Algerianist. He has nothing to do with the movement for the liberation of the Kabyle people.
National Committee for the Release of Prisoners.
His only crime was teaching Kabyle dance.
