The Algerian president reminded the national media that the only usable source regarding the activities of the presidency was his own communication service. A warning that comes in a context of general hardening against journalists.
He had already spoken on the subject just a few weeks after his election at the end of 2019. Abdelmadjid Tebboune again made a very firm statement to the media this Sunday, July 9. In a press release, the Algerian President recalled that when the national media deal with the activity of the Presidency of the Republic, they must consider that only texts emanating from official communication services can constitute a safe and reliable source.
The presidency also explains that it had to carry out this methodological reminder because of a “relaxation” recently observed. Referring to the Algerian private media eager for “scoops and exclusives”, she believes that they have recently presented certain information as coming from official sources when this was not the case.
The General Directorate of Communication, continues the press release, calls again for strict respect for the laws of the Republic and the ethics of the profession” and insists that “the use of other sources with regard to the official activity is considered propaganda and false information for which the author will assume the resulting liability.”
New restrictive law
This warning comes in an already difficult context for journalists in Algeria. Last March, the Assembly adopted a new law relating to information containing several particularly restrictive provisions. The text regulates more strictly the conditions of exercise of the profession and the procedures for granting the press card. It also imposes new transparency obligations on the financing and origin of the capital of media companies and provides for specific fines for journalists writing for foreign media, as well as for those who are guilty of contempt of political or diplomatic leaders.
Another illustration of this turn of the screw exerted on the media: the emblematic case of Ihsane El-Kadi. This journalist and press boss, leader of an independent group to which Radio M and the Maghreb Émergent news site belong, was sentenced in early April to three years in prison. Justice accuses him of having benefited from foreign financing for his company. A sentence increased on appeal in June to seven years in prison, including five firm.
