Two days ahead of the Algerian Presidential elections, former Algerian Prime ministers Ahmed Ouyahia and Abdelmalek Sellal have been convicted of corruption-related charges. The court has sentenced Ouyahia to 15 years in prison and $16,000 in fines while Sellal was given 12 years imprisonment and $8,000 in fines. They were accused of abuse of authority in a car manufacturing embezzlement scandal involving bribes, inflated invoices and suspect loans. Other four former government ministers and businessmen were also convicted although ex-President Abdalaziz Bouteflika’s former campaign manager was acquitted. The trial is the result of investigations into fraud allegations launched in April after Bouteflika stepped down. Protesters gathered outside the courthouse to celebrate the sentence while shouting “Gang of gangsters!”. The trial, considered as a landmark, was televised as authorities are keen to communicate that they are taking protesters’ concerns about corruption, transparency and accountability seriously.