Algeria: French journalist sentenced to seven years in prison for writing about a football club

Prison sentence for attempting to write an article about a football club. French journalist Christophe Gleizes has been sentenced to seven years in prison in Algeria, notably for "apology for terrorism," Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and his employer, the So Press group , announced on Sunday, June 29, denouncing the punishment as "unjust." "An appeal will be filed tomorrow, Monday, June 30," RSF said, adding that the sentence came "after a thirteen-month judicial review."

A 36-year-old freelance journalist and contributor to the magazines So Foot and Society (So Press group), Christophe Gleizes traveled to Algeria in May 2024, notably for a report on the Jeunesse sportive de Kabylie club. According to RSF, he was arrested on May 28, 2024 in Tizi Ouzou (in the north of the country) and placed under judicial supervision, for "having entered the country on a tourist visa, for "apology for terrorism" and "possession of publications for the purpose of propaganda harmful to the national interest . "

"These latest accusations, baseless and completely refuted, are due to the fact that the journalist had contact, in 2015 and 2017, with the head of the Tizi Ouzou football club, who was also head of the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylia (MAK), classified as a terrorist organization by the Algerian authorities in 2021," said the press protection NGO. The first two exchanges between the two men "took place well before this categorization by the Algerian authorities," underlines RSF, and "the only exchange that took place in 2024 was aimed at preparing his report on the football club, JSK, something that Christophe Gleizes has never hidden."

"His seven-year prison sentence makes no sense and only demonstrates one fact: nothing escapes politics today and the Algerian justice system has missed an important opportunity to come out on top in this affair," said RSF director-general Thibaut Bruttin. So Press founder Franck Annese also reacted: "It is important that everything is done, including politically and diplomatically, to ensure that justice prevails and that Christophe can be reunited with his loved ones and his editorial staff."