ALGIERS, Algeria: An Algerian prosecutor on Tuesday sought a four-year sentence in the high-profile appeals trial of Algerian journalist Khaled Drareni, more than the original term handed down a month ago that has been criticized for ignoring press freedoms.
The prosecutor also asked the court to hand down four-year sentences to two prominent pro-democracy protesters appealing their convictions alongside Drareni. That exceeded the pair’s initial three-year conviction, that had all but four months suspended.
Drareni was sentenced to a full three-year term on Aug. 10. Before that, he had been in pre-trial detention for more than five months.
All three men were arrested at a March 7 march in Algiers. The two protesters were released pending their appeal trial.
Drareni was imprisoned for inciting an unarmed gathering and endangering national unity, charges linked to his coverage of Algerias Hirak protest movement.
The two protesters appealing with him, Samir Benlarbi and Slimane Hamitouch, are known figures in Algeria’s Hirak protest movement that helped force President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to resign in April 2019 after 20 years in power.
A group of protesters outside the Algiers courthouse, including from the Hirak movement, carried signs reading Journalism Is Not a Crime” and Algeria Free and Democratic.” A small and peaceful rally in support of Drareni was held Monday at the capital’s press complex. Small demonstrations were also held in Paris, as well as the Tunisian capital of Tunis, on Monday.
Drareni founded the Casbah Tribune news site and works for French TV channel TV5 Monde, among others, as well as for the NGO Reporters Without Borders.
The courtroom was packed with dozens of defense lawyers, 25 of whom were presenting their arguments on behalf of their clients. A verdict was expected late in the night.
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