Doctor and human rights defender Salaheddine Sidhoum was acquitted on October 16, 2003, in a retrial of his earlier conviction in absentia. His original conviction had resulted in a sentence of twenty years’ imprisonment. He went home and celebrated his acquittal and release with family and friends. An Amnesty International staff member who works on the Algeria team at the IS was able to speak with Salaheddine on the day he left Serkadji prison. He warmly thanked Amnesty International for the campaign that was launched in his support, which he said had given him a lot of strength. He also expressed his determination to continue his work for human rights in Algeria in order to contribute to establishing the truth about all the crimes that have been committed in his country.