The Algerian journalist and press boss, Ihsane El Kadi, was sentenced on Sunday to five years in prison, including three years in prison for “foreign financing” of his press company, local media report.
The Sidi M’hamed court (Algiers) also sentenced “Interface Médias”, the company run by El Kadi, which includes the “Radio M” and “Maghreb Emergent” sites, to a fine of 10 million dinars (1 euro = 147.75 DA), and pronounced its dissolution and the confiscation of its equipment.
During the trial which took place last Sunday, the representative of the prosecution had requested, against the Algerian journalist, 5 years in prison accompanied by a fine of 700,000 dinars and a 5-year ban on exercising his activity.
Mr. El Kadi was placed in pre-trial detention on December 29 as part of an investigation for “illegal fundraising” and “undermining state security”, after four days in police custody.
The Algerian journalist was eventually prosecuted under articles of the criminal code relating to the collection of funds from abroad.
The arrest of El Kadi and the sealing of the headquarters of Interface Médias sparked a wave of solidarity among his colleagues and human rights activists in Algeria and Europe. A petition launched by the organization Reporters Without Borders to obtain his release has collected more than 10,000 signatures.
Recently, three United Nations special rapporteurs on human rights issues expressed their concern about violations of the right to freedom of the press and expression, as well as to a fair trial in Algeria.
In correspondence addressed to the Algerian authorities, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association and the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the fight against terrorism drew attention to the trial of journalist Ihsane El Kadi, director of the Algerian station Radio M and the news site Maghreb Emergent.
They expressed concern about the violation of fair trial standards during the arrest and detention of Mr. El Kadi, including his right of access to a lawyer and his right to be informed of the charges against him. him and the reasons for his arrest.
“We are also concerned about the ambiguous legal basis for the charges against Mr. El Kadi and the police search of the two independent media outlets, and that the legal action appears to be linked to their journalistic activities,” added the reporters.
UN experts also said they were “alarmed” by the de facto silencing of a critical journalist and the raid of two independent media outlets which have a negative impact on press freedom in Algeria.
In addition, the rapporteurs expressed their particular concern regarding “the broader significance and negative implications of the situation of Mr. El Kadi, “Radio M” and “Maghreb Émergent” for the freedom of expression and freedom of the media in Algeria”, deploring, among other things, the “chilling effect” they can constitute for individuals, including journalists, media workers and human rights defenders, who wish to s to express, demonstrate peacefully and participate in public and political life in Algeria.
According to human rights organizations, some 300 prisoners of conscience languish, some for more than three years and without the slightest trial, in Algerian jails.
With MAP