According to reports, the court, after conducting an immediate appearance session, sentenced the assailant to 10 years of effective imprisonment and a fine of 5 million Algerian dinars. The ruling also included compensation of 30 million Algerian dinars to be paid to the National Office for the Management and Exploitation of Protected Cultural Properties, noting that this is not the first time the perpetrator has attacked the statue, having committed the same act in 2018.
The Ain El Fouara statue is one of the prominent landmarks of the city of Setif, designed by the French sculptor Francis de Saint-Vidal in 1898. It was installed above a natural fountain springing from a water source bearing the same name.
The statue depicts a half-naked woman in a classical style, representing European sculpture art of that time. The sculpture is located in Independence Square in the city and is considered one of its landmarks, about which Algerian and Arab poets and writers have written.
