Current:Home > FinanceAlgeria’s top court rejects journalist’s appeal of his seven-year sentence-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Algeria’s top court rejects journalist’s appeal of his seven-year sentence
View Date:2024-12-24 00:43:33
ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — A journalist in Algeria targeted as part of a broader crackdown against pro-democracy protests will remain imprisoned after the country’s Supreme Court rejected his appeals on Thursday.
Defense attorneys for Ihsane El Kadi, the owner of a media company that oversaw Algeria’s now-shuttered news site Maghreb Emergent and radio station Radio M, filed two appeals asking the court to overturn the journalist’s sentence for taking foreign funds for his media outlets and “inciting acts susceptible to threaten state security.”
El Kadi is one of hundreds of people associated with Algeria’s pro-democracy movement who have faced criminal charges and imprisonment, including Mustapha Bendjama, another journalist. El Kadi’s website and radio station emerged as key channels during the North African nation’s 2019 Hirak protests.
In April, a court in Algiers gave him a 7-year sentence that included three years in prison and ordered his website and radio station shut down. The sentence was part of a growing list of criminal penalties given to journalists, reflecting the increasing difficulties they face throughout North Africa.
Khaled Drareni, Reporters Without Borders’ North Africa representative, said press freedoms had regressed in recent years throughout the region as journalists face imprisonment or fines as they try to do their jobs.
“This is very bad news because everyone expected this appeal would be accepted, including lawyers who pointed out many irregularities in the trial,” he said, noting concerns about the lack of evidence against El Kadi presented in court. “We’re all in a bit of a state of shock.”
The trend represents a reversal for Algeria, which nurtured a vibrant independent press after it rose from its “black decade” of civil war during the 1990s.
“I’m devastated. I have no words,” El Kadi’s wife, Djamila Ait Yala, told The Associated Press after her husband’s appeal was rejected.
Algeria’s Hirak protests were among the post-Arab Spring Middle East’s largest and led to the resignation of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in 2019. But its weekly demonstrations and sit-ins subsided during the coronavirus pandemic.
Boutefilka’s successor, President Abdelmajid Tebboune, initially released some jailed protesters but later restarted jailing journalists and opposition figures, causing the hopes of the Hirak movement to dissipate.
El Kadi was taken into custody in December 2022. Though the appeal was likely the last avenue to fighting his conviction, El Kadi’s lawyer Fetta Sadat said the defense team held out hope that Tebboune may pardon him next month, on the anniversary of Algerian independence.
Sadat said he had yet to see the ruling announced in court on Thursday and would wait to see it before moving forward.
veryGood! (55256)
Related
- Brian Kelly asks question we're all wondering after Alabama whips LSU, but how to answer?
- Allison Williams' new podcast revisits the first murder trial in U.S. history: A test drive for the Constitution
- Who’s running for president? See a rundown of the 2024 candidates
- Horoscopes Today, December 4, 2023
- Get well, Pop. The Spurs are in great hands until your return
- Musician Carl Mueller III fatally stabbed in Philadelphia: 'He was brilliant'
- UN agency cites worrying warming trend as COP28 summit grapples with curbing climate change
- Tom Holland Shares What He Appreciates About Girlfriend Zendaya
- Tesla Cybertruck modifications upgrade EV to a sci-fi police vehicle
- 'Bachelor in Paradise' finale: How to watch the final episode of season 9, release date
Ranking
- Republican Vos reelected as Wisconsin Assembly speaker despite losing seats, fights with Trump
- Trista Sutter Shares the Advice She'd Give Golden Bachelor's Gerry Turner for Upcoming Wedding
- 'Bachelor in Paradise' finale: How to watch the final episode of season 9, release date
- Sen. Krawiec and Rep. Gill won’t seek reelection to the North Carolina General Assembly
- Olivia Munn Says She “Barely Knew” John Mulaney When She Got Pregnant With Their Son
- Vanessa Hudgens' Beach Day Is the Start of Something New With Husband Cole Tucker
- Las Vegas, Miami, New Orleans? Which city was just named most fun in the United States.
- Notre Dame trustees select Robert Dowd as university’s 18th president
Recommendation
-
Mega Millions winning numbers for November 8 drawing: Jackpot rises to $361 million
-
GM’s Cruise robotaxi service faces potential fine in alleged cover-up of San Francisco accident
-
Hungary’s Orban demands Ukraine’s EU membership be taken off the agenda at a bloc summit
-
Column: Major champions talk signature shots. And one that stands out to them
-
'Serial swatter': 18-year-old pleads guilty to making nearly 400 bomb threats, mass shooting calls
-
Government, Corporate and Philanthropic Interests Coalesce On Curbing Methane Emissions as Calls at COP28 for Binding Global Methane Agreement Intensify
-
Watch this mom's excitement over a special delivery: her Army son back from overseas
-
Warren Buffett’s company’s bribery allegations against the Haslam family won’t be decided in January