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Rabat – The Sidi M’Hamed court in Algiers sentenced Algerian journalist Ihsane El Kadi to five years in prison, with two years suspended.
In addition to the prison sentence, the court also ruled that the media company run by El Kadi should be dissolved.
El Kadi and his company will have to also pay a series of heavy fines totaling $86,200.
Security services in Algeria arrested the journalist last year in December, accusing him of receiving funds aimed at “inciting acts susceptible to threaten state security,” and the country’s unity and stability.
El Kadi, who has remained in custody since his arrest, was among the activists advocating for reforms during the Hirak movement in 2019, and the outlet he runs, Radio M, is one of the few in the country that is critical of the government.
This is not the first time that Algeria hands down heavy prison sentences against journalists and critics.
In October 2022, an Algerian court handed a death penalty sentence to Abderrahmane Semmar, also known as Abdou Semmar.
Semmar is a journalist and the editor-in-chief of Algeria Part, a news outlet known for its opposition to the Algerian regime.
His sentence came after Semmar published news about corruption within Sonatrach, Algeria’s oil company.
Many reporters and activists have been raising concerns about repression used by Algeria’s regime against journalists and protesters.
In February, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Mary Lawlor warned about the deteriorating human rights in the North African country due to the ongoing crackdown against activists and human rights movements.
“Acts of limited meditation and repression against the human rights movement must end,” she said, stressing that the decision to dissolve the human rights association reflects “an alarming crackdown on civil society organizations.”
