How one man single-handedly exposed Algeria’s systemic corruption – with nothing but a laptop

His leaks revealed the dirty money and deception at the highest levels – and helped fuel a national revolution, as Borzou Daragahi reports

People take part in an anti-government demonstration in March (AFP/Getty)

With just a high school education, a man from a little town in the middle of nowhere began dredging up documents alleging corruption in his native land and began posting them on Facebook.

Living in France and operating under the name “Amir DZ”, he built a following of millions in the north African nation of Algeria and across the Algerian diaspora, drawing even more leaks of documents about the generals, and their children, ruling the country. His postings and video denunciations contributed to the uprising against the regime that felled the country’s longtime president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

But for Amir Boukhours, the heady rise has come at a cost. The regime arrested his brother and abused his elderly father back home in the southwestern Algerian town of Tiarat. Facebook shut down his accounts, responding to complaints of privacy violations. And now the 37-year-old is battling against attempts by the regime to extradite him back to Algiers to face severe criminal charges.