Algeria: Celebrating the release of prisoners detained for voicing opinion

ARTICLE 19 welcomes the release of Algerian activists and journalists held for expressing opinion, announced ahead of the 70th Anniversary of the Algerian Revolution, commemorated on 1 November 2024.We call on Algerian authorities to release all detainees jailed on similar grounds, and to safeguard freedom of expression, a foundational pillar of democracy and social justice.

ARTICLE 19 is pleased to acknowledge President Abdelmadjid Tebboune's pardon, issued on Thursday, 31 October, resulting in the release of Ihsane El Kadi, head of Interface Médias, which operates Radio M and Maghreb Émergent. El Kadi has been held in detention since 29 December, 2022 and was sentenced to five years' imprisonment, two of which have been served.

The presidential pardon has also prompted the release of journalists Omar Ferhat and Sofiane Ghirous from the news site Algeria Scoop, who had been in pre-trial detention since June 2024 for publishing a video in which young residents of the Sahara region expressed grievances about marginalisation.

Among those released is Hirak movement activist Mohamed Tadjadit, Known as the 'poet of the Hirak', Tadjadit has been detained on numerous occasions since 2019. Most recently, on 29 January, 2024, Algerian authorities arrested Tadjadit at his home in Algiers in retaliation for his comments on social media criticising the government. Since then, he has been held in arbitrary pre-trial detention.

ARTICLE 19 also welcomes the release of several independent journalists, and urges the Algerian authorities to extend this amnesty to all detainees of opinion, including Brahim Laalami, Nabil Mellah, Yacine Mekirech e, Mohad Gasmi, and Mira Moknache.

ARTICLE 19 recalls Algeria's international commitments to uphold freedom of expression and the Algerian Constitution that enshrines these fundamental rights, underscoring the necessity of safeguarding these rights as the bedrock of a state governed by the rule of law.

ARTICLE 19 reiterates its call for Algeria to fulfill these obligations by releasing all detainees of opinion and actively safeguarding freedom of expression, a foundational pillar of democracy and social justice.