The Algerian newspaper "Liberte" stops publishing after a march of 3 decades

Algerian French-language newspaper Liberte published its last issue on Thursday, a week after its owner, wealthy businessman Issad Rebrab, decided to close it, ending its three-decade career.

The newspaper's front page is designed like a death announcement, with a black ribbon in the corner and a headline saying "Thank you and goodbye" in red.

"After 30 years of intellectual adventure, Liberte is extinguished," reads the front page.

"The curtain has fallen on Liberte, our newspaper, and your newspaper, which for thirty years carried the ideals of democracy and freedom and formed the mouthpiece of Algeria moving forward," she added.

The newspaper's famous cartoonist, Ali Daylam, also signed his last drawing in the journal, showing a wooden coffin bearing the name Liberte with a hammer and a nail under the title "The Last Closure".

For his part, Issad Rebrab said in a statement published by the newspaper, "To the citizens and friends of the newspaper who expressed their desire to continue publishing it, and to those who did not understand the reasons (for closing it), I assure that its economic situation affords it only a short respite."

Issad Rebrab is considered the second richest man in the Arab world, according to Forbes magazine, whose fortune is estimated at $3.8 billion.

After the emergence of several experiences with the opening of the media landscape to the private sector at the end of the eighties, Algeria witnessed the suspension of publications, including "Le Matin", "La Tribune" and "La Nacion", over the past twenty years due to poor advertising revenues and low sales.

The closure of the newspaper "Liberte" comes in light of difficult circumstances experienced by the Algerian press, with the prosecution or issuance of judicial rulings against dozens of journalists, especially on charges of defaming politicians or because of their publications on social networking sites.

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