The Maghreb Centre for Studies and Research in Information and Communication (CMERIC), based in Paris, expressed its surprise and disapproval upon learning of the sentence of Abdou Semmar, an Algerian journalist in exile in France, to the death penalty by the Algerian judiciary.
In their press release, the Center stated that this decision sets a precedent in the Maghreb region, citing the right to “freedom of expression and the right of public opinion to be informed, through the press and the media, about various issues of public affairs by publishing and circulating news and information, revealing imbalances and exposing abuses of power, and the political, economic, and social actors.”
The release clarifies that the journalist Abdou Semmar was sentenced on charges of “leaking and disseminating confidential and strategic information concerning the transactions of the Algerian oil company Sonatrach,” adding that this sentence confirms the critical state of Algeria’s press freedom after it was ranked 134th out of 180 countries in the 2022 Press Freedom Index.
The same source mentions Reporters Without Borders’ latest report in which it stated that “the Algerian media arena has never seen such a deterioration, seeing as independent media are constantly pressured, and journalists are imprisoned or regularly tried, not to mention the censorship of many websites” adding that “mere references to corruption or repression of demonstrations would cost journalists threats and arrests.”
The release expresses that “threats and intimidation against journalists continue to increase, in the absence of a mechanism that would provide them with the necessary protection, and that journalists criticizing the authorities face the risk of arbitrary detention.”
The Center’s release states, “Algeria’s sentencing of an Algerian journalist to death indicates that the country is entering a bleak phase and marks a dangerous and unprecedented turn in the intimidation of the Algerian press.”
Moreover, the release adds that “the statement that freedom of the press exists in Algeria, as it is publicized in the official discourse, remains a marketing rhetoric denied by reality, and refuted by the statements of various media actors since the authority has a monopoly on the printing and distribution of newspapers, government and official publicity and the transformation of public information into government information.”