The Algerian justice accuses the journalist “of having received sums of money” from abroad “in order to engage in activities likely to undermine the security of the State and its stability”
Amnesty International on Tuesday called on the Algerian authorities to “immediately” release press boss Ihsane El-Kadi, denouncing his imprisonment since the end of December as “unjustified”.
Algerian justice confirmed on Sunday the pre-trial detention of Mr. El Kadi as part of an investigation for illegal fundraising and an alleged attack on state security, his defense said on Monday.
“The unjustified detention of El-Kadi is yet another example of the Algerian authorities’ ruthless campaign to silence dissenting voices through arbitrary detention and media closures,” Amnesty International said in a statement. London-based human rights NGO.
“False Offenses”
Insane El-Kadi, director of the Algerian station Radio M and the Maghreb Emergent news site, was remanded in custody on December 29, after four days in police custody.
He is suspected “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 security of the State and its stability”, according to the court of Algiers.
The day after his arrest, the headquarters of the Interface Médias agency, which publishes Radio M and Maghreb Emergent, was sealed and the equipment seized, according to these media.
“Insane El-Kadi, accused of bogus state security offenses, must be released immediately and his media outlets Radio M and Maghreb Emergent must be allowed to reopen,” Amnesty added.
Last week, sixteen press bosses from various countries, including the Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitri Muratov, brought together by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), also called for his release and for the lifting of the “unacceptable” obstacles aimed at his media.
Algeria is in 134th place out of 180 countries in the world press freedom ranking established by RSF in 2022.
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