Hichem Aboud: "Only the Algerian government is interested in kidnapping me."

BarcelonaHichem Aboud (Algeria, 1955) has spent his entire life denouncing the Algerian regime through his books and articles. This keeps him vigilant, and he admits that "he could be shot at any moment." He says he has been kidnapped four times, and The last one was in Barcelona in October The past. Hooded men put him in a car and drove him to Andalusia. Just as they were about to put him on a boat on the Guadalquivir River to presumably take him to the African coast, the Civil Guard intervened. ARA reported this Tuesday that the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) and the Civil Guard have arrested five people as the alleged perpetrators of his kidnapping. However, the investigation has not yet reached the mastermind of the operation.

Who do you think ordered his kidnapping?

— The fact that the Spanish justice system hasn't found anyone means that no one has any interest in kidnapping me, in making me disappear, except the Algerian government. There's no one else. It was an operation carried out by the Algerian secret services and a Spanish criminal organization dedicated to drug trafficking.

Were you tricked?

— I had booked an apartment in Barcelona through Airbnb. Once at the airport, I gave the address to a taxi driver. But I couldn't find the apartment, and they took me.

How are you now?

— I'm at risk of being shot at any moment. And being kidnapped at any moment. So I take my precautions. I always alert security services when I notice anything unusual.

Are you used to living attentively?

— I have also been the target of an assassination attempt in Belgium.

And yet, you continue to denounce the situation in Algeria?

— I'm finishing a book that denounces the Algerian government and everything it has done. I've already published The Mafia of GeneralsEvery day I denounce the Algerian regime in my writings. Every day I make YouTube videos. This book is simply a consecration. I've been fighting against the Algerian regime since 1992.

Did the kidnappers give you any clues?

— It seemed like no one knew each other. No one knew each other's names. No one argued. Not among themselves, not with me.

So, silence reigned?

— When I told them I knew they were taking me to Algeria, they said no. They told me not to talk. They put me through to someone who claimed to be their leader and who spoke French well and I understood him. I have suspicions, but I haven't given his name. I won't jump to conclusions about something I'm not sure about.

How was the transfer by car?

— I was between two guys... what do you expect? I'm between two guys, hands at my sides, they put a blindfold on me, they cover my mouth, that's how it goes. They took me to the port of Málaga to try to get me onto a yacht. I started screaming and running, so they closed me in again. Then they wanted to take me out on a boat along the Guadalquivir, but the police arrived. They had to take me to the African coast.

Why in Barcelona?

— They were preparing me in Madrid. Since they're watching and listening to me, and they obviously have information about me... Everyone has information about me, and I was expected to go to Madrid to meet with the people at the online newspaper I write for. I also really like Catalonia. I always spend my holidays there. My wife, my kids—everyone loves FC Barcelona.

At the moment, the police investigation has not reached the mastermind of the kidnapping.

— The arrest of the members of the criminal group that kidnapped me is very important because they're the ones who will reveal who they made the contract with. They didn't make the contract with just anyone. They did it with an intermediary between them and the Algerian secret services. I'm also investigating, and I have some names. But they're very strong.