Two Algerian journalists from “Algerie Scoop” were arrested for publishing a video showing businesswomen protesting at a government event.
The journalists, Sofiane Ghirous and Ferhat Omar were detained last week and accused of “incitement and hate speech,” said the National Committee for the Liberation of Detainees on Saturday in a statement.
Ghirous is the editor-in-chief of Algerie Scoop, while Omar is the website’s director.
The published video showed women entrepreneurs accusing the government of “humiliating” and treating them with “contempt” at an event organised by the Ministry of Education and Professional Training.
Over the weekend, Algerian authorities raided Librairie Gouraya bookstore in Bejaia, preventing the sale of “Shared Kabylia” and briefly arresting the French author Dominique Martre, the Algerian publisher, including journalists and activists.
Reporters Without Borders has recently ranked Algeria 139th out of 180 countries on its freedom of expression index, highlighting “pressure on independent media and threats to arrest journalists.”
In June, Radio M stopped publication, citing “impossible conditions,” while its editor, Ihsane El-Kadi, is serving a five-year sentence for allegedly accepting foreign funds.
This crackdown by the Algerian government comes ahead of the country’s September elections, with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune likely to contest for a second tenure.
Read More: Nigeria No Longer Interested In Airline Partnership — Ethiopian Airlines
South African Sensation Tyla Named Best New Artist at the 2024 BET Awards
About The Author
