Tarek Mameri was arrested on 1 May at 9:00 p.m. in the middle of Algiers by several plainclothes agents presenting themselves as police officers.

On the Internet over the next several weeks he became an emblematic figure of the Algerian youth expressing anger and desperation. In a recent YouTube video he announced that he was arrested because of his call for a boycott and his public criticism of the Algerian authorities or "le pouvoir."

His arrest sparked a strong youth movement that gathered on Friday 3 May before the court of Algiers demanding his release due to the statutory period of his detention coming to an end. The very next day he was brought before a magistrate. This mobilization of youth certainly played an important role in his release.