Release of Journalist Drareni, Activist Nekkaz Widely Welcomed in Algeria

Activists in the Algerian Hirak protest movement have rejoiced at the release of the most prominent prisoners of conscience.

Algerian authorities freed journalist Khaled Drareni, opposition activist Rachid Nekkaz and more than 30 other pro-democracy activists on Friday, in a conciliatory gesture ahead of the second anniversary of their protest movement.

Drareni has been receiving dozens of sympathizers since Friday evening, most of whom are his colleagues in the media, politicians and human rights activists, who exerted great pressure on the government to release him after he spent almost a year in prison.

He was imprisoned for “inciting an unarmed gathering” and “endangering national unity,” charges linked to his coverage of the protests. His arrest drew criticism outside Algeria, saying authorities were undermining press freedom.

Drareni founded the Casbah Tribune news site and worked for French TV channel TV5 Monde, among others, as well as for the international media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

RSF Secretary-General, Christophe Deloire, welcomed Drareni’s release, stressing that his coverage was in the “right direction for a positive transformation in Algeria.”

In a tweet, Deloire said the amnesty granted by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune for the detained activists is a right step following several other wrong ones.

TV5 Monde General Manager, Yves Bigot, welcomed the release, saying: “We are happy to resume his work as soon as possible if he so desires to.”

The channel’s news director, Francoise Jolie, an active member Drareni’s release committee expressed her “great satisfaction and joy for all the editorial staff, and stressed that a free and independent journalist like Drareni should not be imprisoned.