El Kadi Ihsane, an Algerian journalist imprisoned since December 2022, was released in the early hours from Thursday, October 31st to Friday, November 1st.
The founder of Radio M and Maghreb Émergent received a presidential pardon granted by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to mark the 70th anniversary of the start of the War of National Liberation. This pardon targeted those with final convictions, including both common law prisoners and those convicted in cases related to public order offenses. In total, the pardon affects 4,000 individuals, as stated by the Presidency in an official release.
El Kadi Ihsane was arrested on the evening of December 24, 2022, at his home in Zemmouri, Boumerdès province, and was placed in pre-trial detention at El Harrach prison on December 29 by an investigating magistrate from the Sidi M’hamed court.
He was charged with “receiving foreign funds” with the intent to “undermine state security.” His defense consistently contested these charges, clarifying that the funds in question were sent by his daughter, Tinhinane El Kadi, from the UK where she resides, to support the operational needs of Maghreb Émergent and Radio M, in which she holds shares.
After nearly two years in prison, journalist El Kadi Ihsane has been freed. Initially sentenced to five years in prison with three years suspended by the same court in April 2023, his sentence was increased to seven years with five years firm by the Algiers Court of Appeal in June 2023. The court also ordered the dissolution of Interface Médias, the company managing the two media outlets, and the seizure of its equipment.
The sentence became final in October of the same year when the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal filed by the journalist’s defense.
“Thursday, October 12, 2023, was a harsh blow for us, the wife and children of Ihsane El Kadi, a journalist imprisoned for his opinions for ten months. His friends, colleagues, and all those who care about the establishment of the rule of law in Algeria are no less shocked,” his family stated publicly.
El Kadi Ihsane’s imprisonment sparked widespread solidarity and calls for his release, both domestically and internationally.
