An increasing number of lawsuits are being filed in Algeria against journalists for alleged defamation, Paris-based Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has eported.
On May 11, Nedjar El Hadj Daoud, editor of the Al-Waha newspaper, was sentenced to six months in prison by the Ghardaïa court, confirming the 2007 and 2008 rulings. The sentence stemmed from the publication of a May 21, 2006 article criticising the former director of the presidential cabinet, Larbi Belkheir, and the regional director of health.
Daoud will appeal the court's decision. He has been named in over twenty other lawsuits and has been the victim of incessant judicial harassment. On March 2, he was jailed after being sentenced to six months in prison for "defamation", in a case that dates back to 2005. He was released on March 4 for medical reasons.
Al-Waha was launched in 1990 and banned in 2006 following various pressures. It is the only newspaper in the south of the country.
In another case, Ahcène Guettaf, El-Khabar's correspondent in Bouira, is also facing legal proceedings defamation. On May 11, the Lakhdaria public prosecutor (Bouira province) called for a three-month prison sentence for Guettaf.
On May 10, Omar Belhouchet, editor of El-Watan newspaper, was again brought to court following a defamation complaint from Air Algeria. The state prosecutor of the Sidi M'hamed court demanded a fine of 50,000 Algerian dinars (approx. 510 euros), following two complaints filed in 2005 by Tayeb Benouis, the former CEO of Air Algeria. In a February 28, 2005 article in his paper, Belhouchet simply reproduced statements made by the secretary general of Air Algeria's union. Instead of taking the union representative to court, the company took action against the newspaper. Belhouchet is awaiting the final verdict.
In yet another case, Nouri Benzenine, the former correspondent for Echourouk El Youmi in the west of the country, was sentenced to two months in prison and fined 50,000 dinars (approx. 510 euros) for "defamation" by the Maghnia tribunal (near the Moroccan border). The sentence stems from a March 2007 report on gasoline trafficking in the region. The provincial senator filed a complaint in 2007, despite not having been named in the article. Benzenine has stated that he was not made aware of the court proceedings
