Algerian protesters carrying journalist Khaled Drareni on their shoulders
Algeria accused of using virus to 'settle scores' with media
Reporters Without Borders says Algeria's government is "taking advantage of the coronavirus epidemic to settle scores with independent journalism".
Friday 03/04/2020
Algerian protesters carrying journalist Khaled Drareni on their shoulders
ALGIERS - Reporters Without Borders has accused Algeria's government of taking advantage of the coronavirus epidemic to "settle scores" with independent journalists, including those covering long-running anti-government protests.
In a statement co-signed with Algerian NGOs, the watchdog called on Thursday for the immediate release of its correspondent Khaled Drareni, who has been in pre-trial detention since March 29 on a charge of inciting an unarmed gathering and endangering national unity.
Drareni has been arrested several times for covering the "Hirak" anti-government protests held in the capital Algiers every Friday since February 2019. They forced President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to resign in April, before they were suspended over the coronavirus.
Drareni’s arrest comes days after the jailing of another prominent opposition leader, Karim Tabou. The authorities have also jailed many prominent figures including businessmen and senior officials or former senior officials associated with Bouteflika on corruption charges.
Imprisoning people during a pandemic is "an act of physical endangerment", RSF said, accusing the government of "taking advantage of the coronavirus epidemic to settle scores with independent journalism".
The statement also called for the immediate release of journalists Belkacem Djir and Sofiane Merakchi.
Merakchi, a correspondent for Lebanese TV channel Al-Mayadeen, has been in jail since September 26 and is accused of "concealing equipment" and providing images of the protests to Al-Jazeera and other foreign media.
The reasons for Djir's imprisonment are unknown.
In early March, justice minister Belkacem Zeghmati said Djir and Merakchi were both being prosecuted for "common law acts", without giving details.
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune pardoned 5,037 prisoners on Wednesday, but the amnesty was not extended to the dozens of supporters of the anti-government protest movement.
Algeria has reported 986 cases of the COVID-19 disease and 83 deaths.