The director of an Algerian news website and its editor-in-chief were arrested after broadcasting a report in which entrepreneurs from the south of the country criticized the authorities, an NGO defending prisoners said Friday. The director of the website Algeria Scoop Omar Ferhat and its editor-in-chief Sofiane Ghirous were placed in pretrial detention on Thursday, the National Committee for the Liberation of Prisoners (CNLD) said.
According to the source, they were imprisoned after the site released a video showing two women from the south of the country, who are heads of young innovative companies, protesting against their «marginalisation» during a ceremony dedicated to creation organized Tuesday in Algiers and chaired by the Minister of Training and Vocational Education Yacine Merabi. The two journalists are being prosecuted for “incitement to hate speech and propagation of hate speech”added the CNLD. A third journalist from Algeria Scoop was placed under judicial supervision.
According to the latest ranking from the NGO Reporters Without Borders, Algeria fell three places in 2024 in terms of press freedom, positioning itself in 139th place out of 180 audited countries. RSF deplored “Independent media under pressure” and some “threats and arrests” of journalists for “the mere mention of corruption or the repression of demonstrations”.
