Algeria arrests French journalist for ‘glorifying terrorism’

After sentencing French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal to five years in prison, the same court handed down a new sentence of seven years to French sports journalist Christophe Glezies for alleged ‘glorification of terrorism.’ 

The journalist, who works for the magazines So Foot and Society, was arrested after landing in Algiers on the grounds that he had entered the country on a tourist visa. In addition, old posts on his social media accounts were deemed ‘propaganda harmful to national interests’. 

The sentence explains that the grounds falling under the Algerian Penal Code, for arresting the journalist are based on an interview with a former Cameroonian player who was part of a club with executives who, between 2015 and 2017, belonged to the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylia (MAK), considered a terrorist organisation within the country since 2021. 

On the basis of these premises, the Algerian Court of Justice ruled that there were sufficient grounds to issue a seven-year prison sentence. In response to this situation, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), through its director, Thibaut Bruttin, has denounced the sentence to the relevant authorities as ‘senseless’ and issued a statement calling for his ‘immediate and unconditional release’. 

In RSF's statement, its director pointed out that, despite the sentence, Glezies ‘has been living under absurd judicial control for more than a year’. ‘Today, nothing escapes politics,’ the director concluded. 

‘The Algerian justice system has missed an important opportunity to come out of this affair with its reputation intact,’ RSF spokespeople told the press, referring to the Algerian justice system's refusal to release and pardon Christophe Glezies. They also indicated that they have begun to contact the French government to seek ‘a diplomatic solution as soon as possible.’ 

The family has also issued a statement expressing their ‘surprise and shock’ at the court's ruling. Specifically, Glezies' relatives pointed out that there is no justification for punishing a professional for doing his job. ‘His passion for telling the stories of African footballers, evident in his writing, does not deserve this treatment,’ they added.