Brazil deports Algerian professor charged of terrorism in France

The French-Algerian professor Adlène Hicheur, who has been a visiting professor of the Physics Department at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) was summarily deported from Brazil Friday (Jul. 15) night.

Hicheur was arrested in France in 2009, after being accused of sending messages to people connected with terrorist acts.

The professor denied the allegations. According to him, the prosecution “failed to provide any material evidence to support their arguments” and he was convicted "based only on hypotheses." The professor served his sentence in France before coming to Brazil, where he has lived since 2013.

In a statement on its website, the university’s administration said they were surprised and worried about the Federal Police operation, which was "conducted without presenting clear arguments and without devoting attention to basic democratic principles," referring to the right of self-defense.

The UFRJ had approved the professor’s application to renew his contract, after administrative departments analyzed it. In the Physics Department, Hicheur carried out important researches and was commissioned by the Brazilian Center for Research in Physics.

Translated by Amarílis Anchieta