The journalist and CEO of the first private Algerian media group Ennahar is sentenced to five years in prison, a sentence of unprecedented severity for a press boss in the country.
It is a condemnation heavy with symbols. Almighty under the Bouteflika era, Anis Rahmani, journalist, and CEO of Ennahar, Algeria’s leading private media group, ended up being overtaken by the courts. He was sentenced to five years in prison on Sunday, November 15, according to Ennahar, a sentence of unprecedented severity against a press boss in Algeria. “Five years in prison closes #Anis Rahmani,” tweeted a group.
His real name Mohamed Mokaddem, Mr. Rahmani, 49, close to the entourage of ousted ex-president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was prosecuted for having recorded and broadcast a telephone communication he had with colonel intelligence services in October 2018.
Mr. Rahmani was charged with “contempt of an officer during the performance of his duties,” “defamation of the army,” “contempt of body” and “invasion of privacy by recording a communication. Without the consent of the person concerned,” according to the Ennahar group website.
The director of the popular Ennahar TV channel was also prosecuted for “undermining national unity” and “attacking the integrity of the territory.” In detention since last February, Mr. Rahmani was also fined 100,000 dinars (approximately 650 euros).
During his trial, which was held by videoconference from Koléa prison, west of Algiers, the prosecutor requested a ten-year sentence. During the debates, Mr. Rahmani proclaimed his innocence and denied the facts with which he is accused. He assured that his “moral and legal responsibility [the] had pushed to defend its journalists by taking certain measures.”
Among these provisions, he admitted, “having recorded the communication with the superior officer and having broadcast it during the arrest of the journalist who had written on the subject”.
Rise and fall
On October 15, the ousted magnate had already been sentenced to six months in prison for defamation in a case between him and Yassine Fodhil, director of the Arabic-language magazine Echorouk El-Arabi.
Formerly close to the Bouteflika clan, in particular to Saïd Bouteflika, brother and powerful adviser to the former strongman of the country, Mr. Rahmani is also the subject of an investigation for corruption. He is also prosecuted in several cases, in particular for “acquisition of undue advantages” and “holding of bank accounts abroad.”
He has been targeted by other defamation complaints, according to Algerian media. Known as a specialist in security issues, Mr. Rahmani rose to fame thanks to Ennahar TV. Launched in 2012, this non-stop news channel prides itself on being “the first news channel in Algeria.” But it has been criticized for being a weapon against opponents of the Bouteflika “system.”
During the electoral campaign for the presidential election in December 2019, the channel attacked candidate Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who had become president. The fall of Mr. Rahmani then seemed inevitable. After the resignation of Abdelaziz Bouteflika, driven from power in April 2019 by a popular uprising, the Algerian justice launched a series of investigations for corruption.
Serial sentenced to severe prison terms has exposed the extent of corruption in the former head of state’s seraglio, affecting former ministers, senior officials, and businessmen.
