Reporters Without Borders' approach to Tebboune generates rejection in Algeria

Images of journalist and current Reporters Without Borders (RSF) representative in North Africa, Khaled Drareni - imprisoned between 2020 and 2021 - with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune have sparked controversy in Algeria.

According to Maghreb Intelligence, Drareni was invited to a celebration organised by Algiers on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, which is ironic given the censorship and pressures on journalists in Algeria. As the portal specialised in North Africa reminds us, Tebboune is considered the "executioner" of the press and freedom of expression in the Maghreb country, as since his arrival in power he has imprisoned several reporters, including Ihsane el Kadi, recently sentenced to five years in prison.

The images of Drareni with Tebboune quickly circulated on social media, where many Algerians criticised the RSF representative, a defender of Hirak. The journalist tried to defuse the controversy, claiming that the French NGO had "commissioned" him to deliver a letter to the Algerian president urging him to release El Kadi, who was arrested in December.

However, according to Maghreb Intelligence - based on Algerian sources - it was Drareni himself who asked RSF to meet with Tebboune. "Khaled Drareni was subjected to enormous pressure from the security services and the Algerian government to 'accept a friendly gesture' towards President Tebboune," the portal notes.

Drareni is banned from leaving the country and continues to be threatened by past court cases. His media outlet, Casbah Tribune, is also still closed by the Algerian authorities. Maghreb Intelligence claims that, in order to obtain his freedom, the journalist has been in talks "since the end of 2022 with powerful circles in the security services to negotiate an agreement" to put an end to the pressures he is under.

For this reason, Drareni is reportedly trying to convince Christophe Desloire, director of Reporters Without Borders, to make an official trip to Algiers in order to soften criticism of the situation of the press in the country. Maghreb Intelligence stresses that this situation puts RSF "in a very delicate position", recalling its lack of involvement in the case of journalist Mustapha Bendjama, imprisoned in February, and in the arrests of people accused of providing information to Algérie Part.

"RSF's silence is perceived in Algiers as an indirect complicity that illustrates the unfortunate consequences of this problematic relationship with the Algerian leadership," it concludes.