2 Algerian journalists arrested for publishing video showing businesswomen protesting

ALGIERS, Algeria — Algerian authorities have arrested two journalists for publishing a video showing businesswomen protesting the way they were treated at a government-sponsored event.

Algerian journalists have faced increasing repression since President Abdelmadjid Tebboune came to power four years ago, with possible long prison sentences on flimsy charges, experts say. Many media outlets have also closed their doors due to rising legal costs.

Sofiane Ghirous and Ferhat Omar of the news website “Algeria Scoop” were arrested last week for disseminating material that authorities described as “constituting incitement and hate speech,” according to a statement from the National Committee for the Liberation of Detainees, a local watchdog group, on Saturday.

In the video, start-up founders accuse the government of “humiliating” them and treating them with “contempt” during an innovation event organized by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training.

Ghirous is the editor-in-chief of Algeria Scoop, accredited by the government in 2021, and Omar is the site director.

The press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders recently downgraded Algeria to 139th out of 180 in its 2024 freedom of expression index, while denouncing “the pressure exerted by the country on independent media and the threats of arrest of journalists.”

In June, popular news site Radio M announced it would cease publication due to “impossible conditions” while its editor-in-chief, Ihsane El Kadi, served a five-year prison sentence, accused of accepted foreign funds for his cover, often critical of the government.

Also over the weekend, authorities raided Librairie Gouraya in the city of Bejaia, about 240 kilometers east of the capital, to prevent the sale of “Kabylie partagée,” where a book signing was scheduled for its French author Dominique Martre. They briefly arrested Martre, the Algerian publisher, and several others, including journalists and activists.

In the book, Martre recounts his experiences teaching French 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. Tebboune will likely seek a second presidential term.