Algerian authorities have arrested two journalists for publishing a video showing businesswomen protesting their treatment at a government-organized event.
Since the president came to power Abdelmadjid Tebboune four years ago, Algerian journalists faced a increasing repressionwith risks of long prison sentences based on flimsy charges, experts say. Many media outlets have also closed due to rising legal costs.
Sofiane Ghairous et Ferhat Omarfrom the information site “Algerie Scoop”were detained last week for distributing material that authorities say “constituted incitement and hate speech”according to a press release from National Committee for the Liberation of Prisonersa local watchdog group, released Saturday.
In the video, female start-up founders accuse the government of “humiliate” and treat them with “contempt” at an innovation event organized by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training.
Sofiane Ghirous is the editor-in-chief of Algerie Scoop – accredited by the government in 2021 – and Ferhat Omar is the director of the website.
The press freedom advocacy group Reporters Without Borders recently downgraded Algeria in its freedom of expression rankingplacing it in 139th place out of 180 in 2024, while denouncing the “pressure on independent media and threats of arrest against journalists”.
In June, the popular news site Radio M announced that it would cease publication due to “impossible conditions”while its editor-in-chief, Ihsane El Kadiis serving a five-year prison sentence on charges that his media company accepted foreign funding for its reporting, which was often critical of the government.
Furthermore, over the weekend, authorities burst into the Gouraya bookstore in the town of Bejaia, nearly 240 km east of the capital, to prevent the sale of “Shared Kabylia”where a signing session was planned for the French author, Dominique Martre. They briefly arrested Martre, the Algerian publisher, and several others, including journalists and activists.
In her book, Dominique Martre recounts her experience as a French teacher in the mountainous region of Kabylie in the 1970s.
Those arrested were released later in the evening, lawyer Mokrane Ait Labri, whose journalist brother was among those arrested, told The Associated Press. The crackdown on free expression comes as Algeria prepares for elections in September. Mr. Tebboune will probably seek a second presidential term.
