Minister’s Comments on Journalist’s Arrest Stir Outrage in Algeria

Arab World

April 25th, 6:00am

Algiers - Boualem Goumrassa

Algerian students take part in a demonstration to mark the 63rd anniversary of National Student Day in the capital Algiers on May 19, 2019. (AFP)

Algerian Communication Minister Ammar Belhimer’s comments about the arrest of journalist Khaled Drareni have sparked outrage in the country. On Thursday, the minister said 8,000 journalists do not have their freedoms curbed, but the spotlight is only being focused on three or four reporters. His remarks referred to media watchdog Reporters Without Borders’ demand for the release of Drareni, Sofiane Merakchi, a reporter for France 24 and RT, and other detainees. Belhimer said the detainees are “always being portrayed as victims of freedom of expression, while they are in fact adept at sowing strife.” “They are easily identified through their constant attacks against state officials,” he added. “It is the journalists themselves who receive constant protection from a foreign agency that tirelessly defends them,” he added in reference to RSF. RSF, he said, boasts highly esteemed members, who are recognized for their honest commitment to defending freedom of the press. “The agency, however, does not display the same enthusiasm in defending other respected journalists from other countries, most notably Arabs and Africans, when they are silenced and harassed.” Abdelghani Badi, one of the most prominent lawyers defending the detainees, slammed Belhimer, saying he has appointed himself as judge in the case and adding that his remarks are like a sentence against the detainees. “What happened to the presumption of innocence? What about respecting the confidentiality of investigations?” he asked. Algerian authorities have in recent months been cracking down on various media seen critical of the government. Authorities earlier this month shut down online media sites Maghreb Emergent and Radio M. On Sunday, news website Interlignes was also hit by the censor's axe and no longer accessible online, said its founder Bouzid Ichalalene. They have all been blocked on the grounds that they have foreign funding and that they defamed the president. Belhimer said Thursday that the government is assuming that Interlignes had voluntarily closed, dismissing its claims that it was being censored. Ichalalene hit back, denying that it voluntarily shut, revealing there are ways to access the website and avoid censors. The state telecommunications company is Algeria’s only internet provider and it is therefore, believed to have blocked Interlignes at the order of the authorities.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2251716/minister%E2%80%99s-comments-journalist%E2%80%99s-arrest-stir-outrage-algeria