 Adlène Hicheur was arrested in France on October 8, 2009, after police allegedly intercepted emails between himself and Al-Qaida in Islamic Maghreb, an Algerian-based terrorist organisation.Two weeks after his arrest, the Algerian media compared Hicheur to Lotfi Raissi, who was first suspected of terrorism before being released without charges.An International Support Committee was organized by Adlene's friends and colleagues to support Adlene and to request a fair investigation.