Algeria: prolonged police custody for activist Samir Benlarbi and journalist Khaled Drareni

Demonstrators shout slogans against the government in Algiers on March 6, 2020. RYAD KRAMDI / AFP

Text by: RFI Follow

The police custody of the Hirak activist and the director of the Casbah Tribune site, also a correspondent for Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in Algeria, have been extended by 24 hours. They appeared this Sunday March 8 in the morning at the Algiers court, as well as around thirty people.

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Most of those arrested on Saturday, March 7, 2020, who appeared the next day before the public prosecutor of the Algiers court were released, but are prosecuted for " incitement to unarmed assembly ". They are to be tried on April 26.

However, the prosecutor asked for the 24-hour extension of police custody of activist Samir Benlarbi, a figure in the Hirak movement, and journalist Khaled Drareni, saying that the police investigation should be completed.

In recent months, the latter, journalist, correspondent for Reporters Without Borders and TV5 Monde and spokesperson for the collective "Algerian Journalists United", has been arrested several times, but he was brought before a judge for the first time.

► Read also: Algeria: suffering media

This March 8, dozens of journalists were gathered in court to demand his release and respect for press freedom. Mobilization also goes through social networks. In a tweet, Christophe Deloire, secretary general of Reporters Without Borders, denounces " unacceptable harassment " . " We will do everything for his release thanks to massive solidarity ," he wrote.

Our correspondent in #Algeria @khaleddrareni has been arrested yesterday again, after months of harassement. He was arrested so many times in the past few months that it becomes difficult to know the exact number of arrests. #khaleddrareni https://t.co/y2tFgZWLLd

Christophe Deloire (@cdeloire) March 8, 2020

In a press release, the Algerian General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) believes that the demonstration was unauthorized and that "the police intervened in accordance with the law ".

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  • Algeria
  • Media
  • Justice

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