Algeria

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Algeria
267 articles
A prison guard carries keys at El Harrach prison in Algiers, Algeria, 14 July 2010, REUTERS/Louafi Larbi

Algerian journalist jailed pending trial for ‘espionage’

Independent journalist and fixer Said Chitour was charged with espionage and arrested on 5 June at Algiers International Airport.

Still from video of Karima Bennoune's presentation at TEDxExeter, 2014, Karima Bennoune

Karima Bennoune: More than just competing extremisms

UN Special Rapporteur on cultural rights speaks to IFEX about fundamentalism, arts and the language of understanding.

Link to: Algerian writer under threat of arrest on blasphemy charges

Algerian writer under threat of arrest on blasphemy charges

Writer and human rights defender Anouar Rahmani is currently the subject of a criminal investigation for allegedly insulting Islam following the publication of his latest novel, “Jibril’s Hallucination”.

A prison guard looks through a small window at the El Harrach prison in Algiers July 14, 2010, ALGERIA-PRISONS/ REUTERS/Louafi Larbi

Algerian journalist faces treason charges

Algerian security forces arrested Marzoug Touati, an editor of the news website Al-Hogra, on 18 January and have since held him in administrative detention on treason and incitement charges.

Algerian blogger Merzoug Touati , Liberte-algerie.com

Algerian faces 25 years over Israeli official interview

Morocco charges blogger with “exchanging intelligence with a foreign power” over a YouTube interview with a Foreign Ministry spokesperson.

Relatives carry the coffin of British-Algerian journalist Mohamed Tamalt during his funeral in Algiers, Algeria December 12, 2016, REUTERS/ Ramzi Boudina

British-Algerian journalist’s death shocks nation

Algerian journalist and blogger Mohammad Tamalt was laid to rest in Algiers as a result of a two-month hunger strike in protest of his arrest.

Link to: Algeria’s Facebook lament

Algeria’s Facebook lament

After a Facebook poem lands an Algerian journalist in jail for two years, is anyone’s free speech safe in Algeria?

A security guard stands at the entrance of the Algerian Al Khabar newspaper group in Algiers, September 20, 2010, REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

Algeria’s alarming trend

Independent journalists and human rights defenders are feeling the wrath of the government, as arrests become increasingly common.

Link to: Independent journalism under threat in Algeria

Independent journalism under threat in Algeria

Algerian media outlets KBC TV and the El Watan newspaper were both victims of police operations on 23 June. In both cases, the authorities said the media outlets lacked the necessary permits. They gave the same grounds five days ago when seals were placed on the studios used to record the KBC programme Ki hna Ki enass, which employs 70 people.

Link to: Algerian labor rights defender Belkacem Khencha convicted for Facebook video

Algerian labor rights defender Belkacem Khencha convicted for Facebook video

“Algerian courts are not only convicting people who participate in peaceful labor protests,” reports Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW’s Middle East and North Africa director. “Now they’re punishing people who protest against such unfair convictions.”

Algeria's Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal arrives to take part in an anti-extremism march, in Tunis March 29, 2015. , REUTERS/Emmanuel Dunand/Pool

Algerian Prime Minister calls for ‘clean up’ of the broadcasting sector

The prime minister said the aim of his draconian initiative was to stop those broadcasters that are “crossing red lines” and are attacking “the values and principles of Algerian society” and the “nation’s foundations.”

Screen grab of Zouleikha Belarbi's Facebook post , Screenshot/Facebook/Zouleikha Belarbi

Fined for a Facebook post: Algeria’s criminalization of caricatures

The police arrested Zouleikha Belarbi and questioned her about a Facebook post showing the faces of Algerian political figures, including President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, photoshopped as the Sultan and his entourage in a well-known Turkish television series called “Sultan’s Harem.”

Link to: Teachers beaten, arrested during labour protests in Algeria

Teachers beaten, arrested during labour protests in Algeria

Police in Algiers beat teachers demonstrating for greater job security on March 21 and 22, 2016, injuring at least two. Police also arrested dozens of protesters and held them for several hours, then released them without charge.

A Mozabite Berber man reacts at a damaged workshop after clashes between Arabs and Mozabits in Guerrara near Ghardaia, Algeria July 9, 2015, REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

Pro-autonomy Algerian activists detained, could face death penalty

Pro-Amazigh activist, Kameleddine Fekhar, and his 24 co-defendants, are charged with participating in a terrorist act and inciting hatred, for their alleged role in violent confrontations between the Amazigh and the Arab communities on July 7 in the Mzab.

The staff of "Weekend" decided to resign from the programme after preparing a final episode broadcast on 24 April

Authorities launch attack on satire in Algeria using censorship as a weapon

The suspension of “Weekend,” a satirical programme broadcast by El Djazaira TV on Friday evenings, has triggered outrage on social networks.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, REUTERS/Jacquelyn Martin/Pool

Algerian authorities step up harassment of print media

Last week saw another attempt by the president’s office to intimidate the opposition media, exacerbating what has been a difficult climate for the Algerian press since President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s reelection in April 2014.