This Sunday, June 4, the prosecution confirmed the sentence required against the press boss Ihsane El-Kadi, before the Court of Appeal of Algiers. This is 5 years in prison, three of which are closed.
At 63, Ihsane El-Kadi is the boss of one of the last private press groups in Algeria. This includes Radio M, but also the information site Maghreb Emergent. The manager is being prosecuted for “foreign financing of his company”.
He has been imprisoned since December 29. His arrest sparked a wave of solidarity among his colleagues and human rights activists in Algeria and Europe. On April 2, he was sentenced at first instance to five years in prison, two of which were suspended.
Ihsane El-Kadi is accused “of having received sums of money and privileges from persons and organizations in the country and abroad in order to engage in activities likely to undermine the safety of the State and its stability”, had then indicated the Court of Algiers.
The court had also pronounced the dissolution of his company Interface Médias and the confiscation of all his property seized in addition to the fines against him and his companies.
The European Parliament was accused of ” interference “
In a resolution adopted on May 11, the European Parliament demanded the ” immediate and unconditional release ” of the press boss and called on the Algerian authorities to respect media freedom.
The Algerian Parliament reacted against ” flagrant interference in the affairs of a sovereign country “, expressing its ” categorical rejection ” of the text ” full of terrible untruths ” voted by MEPs.
Algeria ranks 136th out of 180 countries in the world press freedom ranking established by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in 2023.
A petition launched by RSF to obtain the release of Ihsane El Kadi has collected more than 10,000 signatures.
