Algeria: government hardens repression on social networks

A demonstrator at the weekly rally against the ruling regime in Algiers, March 6, 2020. RYAD KRAMDI / AFP

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Hirak activists continue to demand the release of all those arrested in connection with the protest movement in Algeria. According to several human rights organizations, if the weekly marches have been suspended since March 20 due to the health situation linked to the coronavirus pandemic, the pressures and arrests continue. Internet users are particularly targeted because of their publications on social networks.

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With our correspondent in Algiers, Magali Lagrange

This is the case of at least 3 people, since the beginning of the week. The sentences pronounced by the Algerian justice range up to 18 months in prison, for "  publications that may harm the national interest  " or "  contempt of the President of the Republic  ".

Amnesty International has noted an increase in pressure, since the start of the health crisis, via invitations to activists or people active on Facebook , and not necessarily for new publications. The NGO also notes that the sentences seem more severe, the prison terms replacing those suspended.

Detained for publishing critical "memes"

The photo and the name of Walid Kechida circulate for example on social networks, in recent weeks. This young man of 25, a supporter of Hirak, has been detained in Setif since April 27, for having published "memes": diverted images mocking in particular the authorities. He is accused of contempt of body, of offense to the President of the Republic. He faces up to 5 years in prison.

Several researchers and observers agree that the Algerian government has toughened the repression against opponents of the regime since the protests have been suspended . The National Committee for the Release of Detainees currently lists around sixty people incarcerated in connection with the Hirak.

► Read also: Algeria: "Nothing can stop the Algerian people in their march for democracy"

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  • Algeria
  • Human rights
  • Freedom of press

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