Three additional local news websites have been blocked on Algerian networks since April 22, 2020, bringing the number of outlets affected in April and May to at least six, according to online statements by the websites affected. The intervention came in the wake of a new law against “false news.”
New York, April 22, 2020 — Algerian authorities must immediately unblock the news websites Interlignes, Maghreb Emergent, and Radiom, and ensure that all media outlets can publish online freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
On April 1, 2020, officers of Algeria’s National Gendarmerie arrested three employees of the privately owned Essawt El-Akhar daily newspaper and interrogated them about a story the paper published that day about the COVID-19 pandemic, according to news reports and Abdelrahman Saleh, the employees’ lawyer, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app.
Washington, D.C., March 9, 2020 — Algerian authorities should immediately release journalist and press freedom advocate Khaled Drareni, a correspondent for global press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) who has been in custody since March 7, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Washington, D.C., December 19, 2019 — A court in Oran, in northwest Algeria, sentenced cartoonist Benabdelhamid Amine to one year in prison on December 11 after finding him guilty of insulting the president, “violating territorial integrity,” and “disseminating publications harmful to national security,” according to news reports. The Djamal City Criminal Court suspended nine months…
Protests are taking place across Algeria ahead of a presidential election that is scheduled to take place on December 12, according to reports. The December vote comes after the resignation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who stepped down from power after 20 years of rule amid widespread protests at the start of the year, according to…
Washington, D.C., October 23, 2019—The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Algerian authorities to release Bendjama Mustapha, editor-in-chief of Le Provincial, and end the harassment of journalists covering anti-government protests.
Washington, D.C., October 17, 2019–Algerian authorities should immediately release journalists Said Boudour, Abdelmoundji Kheladi, and Adel Azeb Chikh from pretrial detention and drop all charges against them, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.