Algeria: A court in Algeria has sentenced French journalist Christophe Gleizes to seven years in prison for allegedly promoting terrorism through his reporting on a football team in Kabyle, a region central to the country’s separatist conflicts. Gleizes, 36, is a freelance sports journalist who frequently writes for So Foot and Society. He was arrested in May 2024 while covering Jeunesse Sportive de Kabylie (JSK), one of Algeria’s most famous football clubs. He had entered Algeria on a tourist visa, the only type typically issued to foreign journalists, to work on a book and to participate in a memorial for Cameroonian footballer Albert Ebossé, who died under unclear circumstances in 2014 while playing for JSK. After his arrest on May 28, 2024, Gleizes was placed under judicial supervision and prohibited from leaving the country.
Although he was allowed to move from Tizi Ouzou to Algiers, he had to report to the central police station several times a week and spent over a year living in a hotel while awaiting trial. His lawyers claim that the charges stem from interviews he conducted between 2015 and 2017 with Ferhat Mehenni, a JSK official who later became president of the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie (MAK), which Algeria classified as a terrorist organization in 2021.
- Lord, we pray for justice for Christophe Gleizes and for all journalists who may be facing unjust persecution. Ask that the truth may prevail and that those in authority act with integrity and fairness (The Holy Bible, Psalm 82:3).
- Lord, we pray for peace in Algeria and specifically in the Kabyle region, that tensions may be eased, and that all individuals, regardless of their beliefs or backgrounds, may find safety and security (The Holy Bible, Psalm 29:11).
News Source: The New Arab
Image Source: Canva
