Algerian journalist in custody ahead of trial, lawyers say

 

Reporters Without Borders condemned Ihsane El Kadi's arrest and called on authorities to 'free him and respect the work of the media' [File: Wikimedia Commons]

 

Algerian journalist Ihsane El Kadi, who owns a media group and has been a vocal critic of the government, has been placed in a pre-trial detention, accused of receiving foreign funding, his lawyers said on Thursday after he was arrested on Dec. 24.

 

Reporters Without Borders, the international media freedom group, condemned El Kadi's arrest and called on the authorities to "free him and respect the work of the media in the country".

 

“Journalist Ihsane El Kadi, who was arrested Friday night … has been placed in pretrial detention” by an investigating judge in Algiers, the news website Maghreb Emergent said on Thursday.

 

He was allegedly being held in violation of a law prohibiting obtaining "funds, donations, or advantages... for carrying out or encouraging activities" that pose a threat to the "national unity" or state security.

 

El Kadi, an outspoken opponent of the administration, is charged with collecting financing from abroad, according to his attorneys. He was detained on December 24. He might spend as much as seven years behind bars.

 

El Kadi came before the investigating judge "without his lawyers, who were not notified," according to Radio M, which he also owns.

 

Police reportedly confiscated documents and secured Interface Media's corporate headquarters the day after his imprisonment, according to the article.

 

After receiving a complaint on a Radio M story from a former information minister, El Kadi was given a six-month prison sentence in June. The official objected that Rachad, a Muslim organization Algeria claims is a "terrorist" group, was involved.

 

El Kadi was charged with "divulging information considered to be damaging to the national unity," according to the minister.

 

On appeal, the sentence was upheld, but the court did not mandate El Kadi's incarceration. Given that penalties in political cases are frequently suspended, he might not have to serve the required time in jail.

 

According to Aljazeera, the authorities’ moves against El Kadi and his outlets have generated an outpouring of support among journalists and human rights defenders in Algeria and beyond. About 800 people have signed a petition for his release.