Official media said charges against the 19 defendants, including former Sonatrach chief executive Mohamed Meziane, included granting privileges to third parties, increasing prices of contracts, embezzlement and money laundering.
The case was adjourned after a day when defence lawyers withdrew because they said there was no guarantee of a fair trial, attorney Chaib Sadek said. “We have decided to postpone the case until a later session,” Judge Mohamed Reggad told the court in Algiers, without setting a date for the next hearing.
Meziane
