Rabat – In the 2022 edition of the World Press Freedom Index, which was published on Tuesday, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) confirmed that press freedom in Algeria has deteriorated like never before.
In Algeria, just bringing up the subject of corruption and the suppression of demonstrations can lead to threats and imprisonment of journalists, reported RSF in its 2022 report.
“The journalistic landscape in Algeria has never before deteriorated to this extent. Independent media are under pressure, journalists are regularly imprisoned or prosecuted, and many online sites are blocked,” the report mentions.
Reporters Without Borders added that the political climate was “extremely tense,” especially since the election of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in December 2019.
The organization further emphasized that “media and journalists have been under constant pressure, most of it from the president’s office, political parties, security services, and local officials.”
While “the government exerts a direct influence on the hiring and firing of executives in the media and in regulatory agencies,” RSF noted that “reporters are impeded from doing their jobs freely and independently.”
According to Reporters Without Borders, threats and intimidation against journalists are “increasingly restrictive” in the lack of a “protective system.” Journalists who criticize the government may risk arbitrary imprisonment, surveillance, and eavesdropping.
The organization, on the other hand, referred to the “increasingly restrictive” legislative framework, noting that while Article 54 of the constitution guarantees freedom of the press, it also restricts the dissemination of information and opinions that must respect “the nation’s religious, moral and cultural characteristics and values,” posing a threat to journalists’ freedom.
The organization stated that the 2020 Penal Code reform criminalizes the dissemination of “false news” and “hate speech” that aims to undermine “national security and order” as well as “state security and national unity.”
Regarding the economic situation in Algeria, Reporters Without Borders stated that the private sector has been suffering since 2019 and that many media and television channels have been forced to close. This trend owes to the deprivation of press organizations of advertising funds, adding that “government subsidies are granted only to state-owned media or to private outlets close to the regime.”
RSF finally noted that the social and cultural milieu for journalists varies from north to south. Local organizations, governors, and religious groups have enormous authority in the country’s inner cities which is used to regulate journalists.
