Algerian man sentenced to 10 years for vandalising nude woman statue

A court in Algeria sentenced a young man to ten years in prison on Thursday evening for trying to destroy the statue of the "Naked Woman" in the city of Setif.

The court found the defendant had previously attempted to destroy the statue in November 2018, for which he was sentenced to five years in prison.

The court charged the accused with vandalising a cultural monument and public property, in addition to assaulting public forces.

Earlier this week, the perpetrator, who was reportedly intoxicated, had vandalised the statue’s face, which features a flowing water source in Setif’s city centre in eastern Algeria.

This resulted in severe damage to the face before security forces intervened to arrest him.

Videos were shared by Algerian news outlets and on social media showing the moment the man was tackled by police.

The fountain’s statue is called "Ain El Fouara," referring to the natural spring that flows year-round from the four sides of the monument, which is topped by a marble sculpture of a naked woman.

The statue was brought from France to the port of Skikda during French colonial rule of the North African nation, and from there to the city of Setif in a horse-drawn carriage. It was erected on 26 February 1898.

There is near consensus among researchers that the French governor of the city was annoyed by Muslim worshippers who were crowding at the spring to wash, a requirement before prayer in Islam.

The statue stood only a hundred meters away from the historical mosque.

Because of this, sculptor Francis de Saint-Vidal was asked to sculpt a naked woman, with the alleged aim to offend Muslims and make them avoid the place.

This is the fourth time the monument has been subjected to an attempted vandalism by individuals with extremist motives, upset with the statue’s nude appearance.

A 2017 attack saw minor damage inflicted on the sculpture. In August 2018, an extremist shattered parts of it.

On 2 December 2023, another young man used the distraction of a football match to strike the statue with a hammer before being apprehended by police.

Earlier still, in 1997, a group of armed militants bombed the statue, partially destroying it.

Similar attacks occurred in 2006. In response, some members of parliament have called for the statue to be removed from public space and placed in a museum, arguing it "offends public decency" and should be protected from further harm.