Intimidation, threats, defamation and restrictions on freedom of expression targeting active citizens and the media in Algeria

Following the publication by Algérie-Focus of an article stating that the son of a minister in the Algerian government had for some time been occupying a luxurious residence reserved for senior state officials, the media outlet’s editorial team became the target of a concerted smear campaign, conducted through Facebook pages linked to certain political families. Similarly, Algérie-Focus editor-in-chief Abdou Semmar, an AfricTivistes member, was targeted with defamatory allegations that invaded his privacy and went so far as to threaten his physical safety.

The editor-in-chief is accused of serving the faction aligned with Minister Abdesslam Bouchouareb. Algérie-Focus is also accused of working on behalf of a mobile phone operator. Nothing—and certainly not these unfounded allegations—can justify an attack on a person’s physical or moral integrity in a state governed by the rule of law.

These calls for violence, barely veiled death threats, made publicly and openly, and this smear campaign constitute a dangerous escalation and a serious violation of Algerian law.

Criticising a media outlet for its outspoken tone and commitment is a serious infringement of journalists’ and media professionals’ freedom to express themselves and to inform their fellow citizens.

We, AfricTivistes, consider these threats and acts of intimidation arbitrary and abusive. The repeated attacks on independent media and critical journalists, together with censorship and the repression of freedom of expression in Algeria, represent a democratic setback and a failure to honour international human rights commitments. These pressures and threats will in no way silence independent media, which are committed to informing the public as objectively and professionally as possible.

We express our support for our fellow AfricTivistes member in Algeria, Abdou Semmar, and for the Algérie-Focus editorial team. We also reaffirm our solidarity with all independent media and journalists, and with civil society as a whole in its struggle against this abuse of power and this latest attack on our democracy.

By ratifying the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1989 and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights in 1987, the Algerian authorities undertook to respect international law. Yet they violate those commitments with impunity by failing to protect their citizens’ right to freedom of expression and neglecting their duty to inform the public.

For this reason, we, AfricTivistes—the League of African Bloggers and Cyber-Activists for Democracy—strongly condemn these threats, acts of intimidation and defamatory allegations. We demand protection for the physical and moral integrity of editor-in-chief Abdou Semmar, of all those defending the same causes, and of the entire Algérie-Focus editorial team, so they can exercise their fundamental rights to freedom of expression and to inform.

We remain committed to ensuring that citizens’ rights, particularly the rights to freedom of expression and information, are respected and protected in the service of a stronger democracy in Africa.