Prolonged custody for the journalist arrested during a demonstration

Algerian journalist Kenza Khatto, arrested Friday during an attempted march by the Hirak protest movement, has seen her custody extended, the radio station she works for said on Sunday. “In all likelihood, the custody of Kenza Khatto was extended by 24 hours, because she was not released or brought before the prosecution” as expected, explained his lawyer Zoubida Assoul to Radio M station, private media close to the opposition. “She bears the scars of her violent arrest, including apparent injuries to the neck and arm,” she added.

The National Committee for the Liberation of Detainees (CNLD) had earlier announced the extension of custody, indicating that the journalist would be “presented before the prosecutor of the court of Sidi M’hamed of Algiers, Monday, May 17, 2021”. Kenza Khatto was arrested by police on Friday in Algiers, along with a dozen reporters and press photographers, including AFP reporter Ryad Kramdi, as they prepared to cover the weekly Hirak march.

Police custody deemed “abusive”

While his colleagues were released after several hours, Kenza Khatto was taken into custody. “We still do not know the reason (s) for this procedure,” said Radio M, which on Saturday denounced the “abusive” custody of its political journalist. “The intimidation and harassment of journalists will not prevent the images of Algerians on the march from continuing to bear witness to what is happening in the public space,” said Radio M.

The Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights reported a thousand arrests across the country after Friday’s protests. Most of those arrested have been released but others appeared in court on Sunday.

A muzzled press

“The media are confronted with the new policy of the security services which consider them as potential adversaries to be muzzled”, wrote the French-language daily Liberté. Algeria is in 146th place (out of 180) in the 2020 world press freedom ranking established by RSF, falling 27 places compared to 2015.

With the approach of the early legislative elections of June 12, rejected by the Hirak, repression increases against activists, opponents and independent journalists, while the regime seems determined to break the pro-democracy movement. According to the CNLD, more than 70 people are currently imprisoned, prosecuted for acts related to Hirak and / or individual freedoms.

UN and EU are closely monitoring the situation

The Interior Ministry has also decided to force the organizers of the Hirak marches to “declare” the demonstrations beforehand to the authorities, which amounts to de facto prohibiting them. After the UN, “increasingly concerned” by the attacks on human rights in Algeria, the European Union affirmed “to follow closely” the situation.

“Respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights is enshrined in the Algerian Constitution and is also an essential element of EU-Algeria relations”, recalled this week the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell. Born in February 2019, the Hirak calls for a radical change in the political “system” in place since independence in 1962.