Algeria upset by ‘simplistic’ U.S. report on human rights

Algeria, an important U.S. ally in the fight against terrorism, is upset over critical remarks about its human rights record in a State Department report on human rights around the world.

The Algerian Foreign Ministry issued a harsh statement this week saying the report, which describes the situation country by country for 2014, amounts to a “mechanical reproduction of stereotypes, partial judgments and simplistic conclusions.” The ministry summoned Ambassador Joan Polaschik on Tuesday.

Monday’s statement complained that the State Department had put “legitimate action of the state” on equal footing with the “murderous folly of terrorist groups.”

The report criticizes Algeria for human rights abuses in multiple areas, from restricted freedom of speech to impunity for security forces. Algeria battled Islamist extremists in the 1990s. Sporadic terror attacks continue.