Algerian journalist fined, sentenced to 1 year on insult charges

New York, October 8, 2024—Algerian authorities must release the Djelfa Tribune editor-in-chief, Badreddine Guermat, and should not contest if he chooses to appeal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday.

The journalist was sentenced to one year in prison and fined 100,000 dinars (US$752) on Sunday, October 6, on charges of insulting a state institution and its employees, according to a local reporter who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing safety concerns. 

“We are alarmed by an Algerian court’s decision to convict and sentence journalist Badreddine Guermat to one year in prison for simply doing his job,” said CPJ Interim MENA Program Coordinator Yeganeh Rezaian, from Washington, D.C. “Algerian authorities must release Guermat, should not contest his appeal, and stop harassing journalists for reporting the news.”

Guermat was arrested on September 25 from his home in Djelfa, a city south of Algiers, following a Facebook post alleging government mismanagement of funds. The Djelfa Tribune is a local news website that covers local politics.

CPJ’s email to the Algerian Ministry of Interior requesting comment about Guermat’s conviction did not receive any response.

The arrests occur amid an apparent aim to silence criticism ahead of and after the September 7 presidential elections in what rights groups are calling an “erosion of human rights” under President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s administration.

At the time of CPJ’s most recent annual prison census on December 1, 2023, three journalists were imprisoned in Algeria. Journalist Mustapha Bendjama was released in April 2024. In addition to Guermat, authorities have since arrested at least two other local journalists: Omar Ferhat and Sofiane Ghirous.