it was repeated in other neighborhoods of the city. On July 17, then on July 23 and 24, the violence spread to the city of Tebessa, then further south where businesses owned by lone women were vandalized. Dozens of women were hospitalized, six in critical condition. There were 95 women and children who found refuge in a youth hostel. Others hired taxis to leave the city and return to their region of origin. The newspaper La Tribune wrote of four to six deaths, which authorities denied. Witnesses described seeing several dead women. In August 2001, the association SOS Femmes en détresse spoke of woman killed by an attack, and three who remained hospitalized The trials According to newspaper La Tribune, imam Amar Taleb was arrested, as well as 40 men who took part in the violence. Le Matin confirmed 9 arrests. Amar Taleb, however, continues to preach in the largest mosque in the city. Thirty-nine women decided to file charges. In the first instance, in June 2004, none of the victims were able to have recourse to a lawyer, not even those who were promised by the Ministry of Solidarity. Most of the charges against the 32 attackers were deemed waived, retaining only "the mob in the street and public order offenses". The appeal process began in December 2004, but was postponed to 2005, at the court of Biskra, to allow all of those accused to be present in court. At the reopening of the trial, only six of the accused were present, facing three victims. Under pressure and threats (including even within the courtroom during the first trial) the other women abandoned their lawsuits. Prison sentences of eight, six and three years were delivered to the three accused who were present, and the three others were acquitted. Most of the attackers were sentenced in absentia: 20 were sentenced to 20 years, 4 were sentenced to 10 years and one was sentenced to five years. However, only three had to serve their sentences. Continuing attacks As of 2011, similar mob attacks against women continued in Hassi Messaoud and elsewhere in Algeria, notably M'sila. The Wasilla network created an observatory for monitoring the incidents and in September 2016 published a report within three days of new incidents taking place. Films and publications The incident was the subject of a dramatic film, released in 2008: Vivantes ! by Said Ould Khelifa, filmed