Algiers (AFP)

Algerian journalist Khaled Drareni, sentenced to three years in prison, rejected the charges against him at the opening of his appeal trial on Tuesday in Algiers, saying he "only did his job".

Imprisoned since March 29, the accused, who has become a symbol of the fight for press freedom in Algeria and supported by a strong mobilization for his release, arrived in court in a van.

"Since the first day, I have only done my job as a journalist. I am here because I covered + Hirak + in complete independence", defended at the hearing Mr. Drareni, 40, in reference to the anti-regime protest movement, according to one of the few journalists authorized to enter the court.

It is not certain that the verdict will be delivered on Tuesday.

About thirty lawyers are due to speak.

Director of the Casbah Tribune news site and correspondent in Algeria for the French-speaking channel TV5 Monde and for Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Khaled Drareni was sentenced on August 10 to three years' imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 dinars (330 €) for "incitement to unarmed assembly" and "undermining national unity".

A verdict of unprecedented severity that surprised and indignant his colleagues.

- "Without witness" -

He was arrested in Algiers on March 7 while covering a demonstration of "Hirak", the popular uprising that rocked Algeria for more than a year until his suspension a few months ago because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The journalist is also accused of having criticized the political system on Facebook and published a statement by a coalition of political parties in favor of a general strike, according to RSF.

"We can review all my interventions to see if there is an attack on national unity. I was relating the facts", he pleaded.

"The @khaleddrareni appeal trial opened almost without witnesses! Barely 10 journalists were able to enter the courtroom compared to a hundred at the first hearings," RSF lamented in a tweet.

The NGO denounced "the authorities' clear will to limit media coverage of the very symbolic trial by imposing, without warning, new restrictions on access to journalists".

Incarcerated in the Koléa penitentiary center near Algiers, Mr. Drareni was greeted on his arrival at the court by a small crowd of sympathizers, journalists and activists chanting "Khaled Drareni is a free journalist!".

Two co-accused, Samir Benlarbi and Slimane Hamitouche, figures of the "Hirak", were also present at the hearing.

The prosecutor also requested four years in prison against them.

They had each received two years in prison, four of which were firm, but presented themselves free in court, after having served their sentence.

- "Informant" -

Since his conviction, calls to release Khaled Drareni have multiplied.

"The Algerian authorities wanted to set an example to intimidate all journalists in Algeria" but "they made it a symbol of the defense of press freedom", commented RSF secretary general Christophe Deloire.

The UN, the European Union and the African Union have also expressed their "concern" over the Drareni affair.

His appeal trial is taking place in a deleterious climate of repression against the independent media, "Hirak" activists and political opponents.

Some 45 people are imprisoned for acts related to "Hirak", according to the National Committee for the release of detainees.

Journalists have been accused by the regime of sowing "subversion" and of being in the pay of "foreign parties".

Several are in prison.

In May, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune himself suggested, without citing him by name, that Khaled Drareni was an "informant on behalf of foreign embassies".

Allegation also invoked according to lawyers by the Minister of Communication Ammar Belhimer, who accuses the correspondent of TV5 Monde of having worked without ever having had a professional press card.

© 2020 AFP