15 June 2005
HARSH LAWS PENALISE JOURNALISTS
IFEX members are calling attention to Algeria's Criminal Code, which is being used by authorities to jail journalists who report critically on the government and the military. In the past week, at least four have been convicted of criminal defamation and three have received prison sentences. There are also hundreds of cases pending against journalists.
International PEN, the Algerian Centre for the Defence of Press Freedom (Centre algérien de défense de la liberté de la presse , CALP), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) have urged the Algerian government to remove criminal defamation provisions from the Criminal Code, saying they violate international standards on freedom of expression.
The Criminal Code was amended in 2001 to allow prison sentences of up to one year and substantial fines for defaming the president, the courts, the military, or parliament. Journalists who work for publications that criticise President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and his policies say they are being targeted by the government.
Recent court cases illustrate the severity of the problem. On 24 May 2005, former "Liberté" director Farid Alilat, who lives in France, was sentenced in absentia to one year in prison for having published cartoons in 2003 that were critical of Bouteflika and his 2004 re-election campaign. The cartoonist, Ali Dilem, was fined 50,000 Algerian dinars (US$680).
In a related case, Djamaldine Benchenouf was sentenced in absentia to three years in prison for articles he wrote in "Liberté" about embezzlement within the National Social Insurance Fund and the General Union of Algerian Workers.
On 18 May, Fouad Boughanem and Ridha Belhajouja (who publishes under the name Hakim Laalam) of the French language daily "Le Soir D'Algerie" were each sentenced to two months in prison for defaming the president. The newspaper had published articles that also criticised Bouteflika during his re-election campaign.
Meanwhile, five journalists from the daily newspaper "Le Matin" - Mohamed Benchicou, Abla Cherif, Hassane Zerrouky, Youcef Rezzoug and Yasmine Ferroukhi - were convicted on defamation charges in April. The publication has been forced to close.
RSF and IFJ have launched campaigns to draw international attention to the cases. For more information, contact RSF (nordelaafrique@rsf.org) and IFJ (Bertrand.ginet@ifj.org).
Visit these links:
- CALP: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/66349/
- International PEN: http://tinyurl.com/7adfn
- RSF: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=14053
- Mohamed Benchicou Case: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=13975
- Index on Censorship: http://tinyurl.com/7r9oy
- CPJ Report on Algeria: http://www.cpj.org/attacks04/mideast04/algeria.html
- International Press Institute Report: http://www.freemedia.at/wpfr/Mena/algeria.htm
- IFJ: http://www.ifj.org
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