Failed Kidnapping Operation: The First Secretary of the Algerian Embassy Is No Longer Covered by Diplomatic Immunity

French authorities have determined that Salah-eddine S., former First Secretary of the Algerian Embassy in Paris, is no longer protected by diplomatic immunity in connection with the 2024 abduction of political refugee Amir Boukhors.

According to Article 39(2) of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, immunity ends at the conclusion of a diplomat’s mission, except for acts carried out in the course of official duties. Surveillance, kidnapping, and collaboration with criminal networks are not considered protected diplomatic functions. Having left France in August 2024, Salah-eddine S. can now be legally prosecuted. The remaining barrier is political, not legal.

Amir Boukhors was initially scheduled to be exfiltrated on 30 April 2024, from Île-de-France to Alicante, Spain, aboard an Algerian diplomatic vehicle. When the operation was postponed by 24 hours — for reasons not yet disclosed — the kidnappers had to improvise. During the overnight detention at a makeshift site, Mohamed K. and Michel C., the operational leads, urgently requested €2,000 from their handlers, Salah-eddine S. and Adjutant Smail R. The funds were intended to pay two new recruits, Nathalia C. and an unidentified veiled woman, tasked with monitoring and sedating Amir.

Fethi Rochdi Moussaoui, then head of security at the Algerian Embassy in Paris and now Director of the DGDSE (Algeria’s foreign intelligence service), was unavailable to access the black fund allocated for covert ops. In his absence, Salah-eddine S. personally withdrew €2,000 in cash from his personal bank account at 2:00 a.m. at an ATM near the abduction site. French intelligence confirmed the transaction through geolocation data, phone tracing, and other classified technical sources.

A critical unexpected event disrupted the operation: Amir, suffering from a severe dental infection and scheduled to see a dentist that same morning, regained consciousness due to the intense pain despite being sedated. He began speaking with the two women, realized they did not know who he was, and explained his status as a political refugee. Alarmed, they alerted the others. Amir was released shortly after, in a wooded area outside Paris.

On Tuesday, May 13, 2025, anti-terror police and the DGSI arrested six people in connection with the case. While the authorities have yet to give any details, our investigation has enabled us to identify the main parties involved in the kidnapping execution:

• Salah-eddine S. – First Secretary at the Algerian Embassy
• Houssam-eddine B. – Deputy Consul at the Algerian Consulate in Créteil
• Smail R. – Adjutant with the DGDSE
• Mohand D. – Civilian agent affiliated with the DGDSE, arrested on April 8, later released due to a serious medical condition
• Mohamed K. – Algerian national, partner of Nathalia C., a pregnant Roma woman
• Michel C. – Roma man, father of Nathalia, leader of the fake police team
• A veiled woman – Unidentified, reportedly a friend of Nathalia C.
  

The chain of command has also become clearer: acting on instructions from their superiors, Salah-eddine S. and Adjutant Smail R. recruited and paid Saïd L. (Franco-Algerian with a long criminal record) and Kamel S.M. (Franco-Algerian, also a repeat offender). These two individuals contacted Mohamed K. to organize the abduction, who in turn enlisted his father-in-law, Michel C.

While Smail R., Saïd L., Kamel S.M., Mohand D., Mohamed K., Michel C., and Nathalia C. are currently in France, Salah-eddine S. and Houssam-eddine B. exfiltrated to Algeria. France is preparing Interpol red notices for Salah-eddine S. and Houssam-eddine B., in addition to arrest warrants already issued for General Rochdi Fethi Moussaoui and Colonel Souahi Zerguine.

However, it is highly unlikely that Algerian military authorities will surrender Salah-eddine S. or Houssam-eddine B. to French justice. Doing so would constitute both a clear admission of state involvement in the abduction of an exiled opponent and a humiliating capitulation—two outcomes the regime, currently engaged in escalation dynamics, will categorically reject. The French extradition requests are instead part of a gradual procedural strategy: to establish a documented timeline, increase media pressure, and officially record that requests were made and ignored.

What is certain is that the international arrest warrants for General Rochdi Fethi Moussaoui, Colonel Souahi Zerguine, and the expected warrants for Salah-eddine S. and Houssam-eddine B., will severely limit their international mobility due to the risk of arrest and extradition. More importantly, their names will be entered into DGSE and DGSI databases of known diplomatic and intelligence operatives. These lists are actively shared across interagency channels in Europe, North America, and other allied jurisdictions. Any international career or travel outside of non-cooperative states—such as China, Russia, Venezuela, Iran, North Korea, or Uganda—will become effectively impossible.

By contrast, Kamel Daoud, who is the target of two international arrest warrants issued by the Algerian regime on grounds recognized as political persecution, will be removed from these lists and continue to travel freely.

Abderrahmane Fares ✍️