European Parliament votes on an emergency resolution on the repression of press freedom in Algeria.
The European Parliament (EP) adopted on Thursday, May 11, 2023, by a very large majority (536 votes in favor, 4 against, 18 abstentions), an emergency resolution expressing concern about the significant deterioration of press freedom in Algeria since the Hirak protests in 2019 and the harassment of journalists.
Through this resolution, the EP joins several human rights organizations that have repeatedly challenged the Algerian authorities on the case of Ihsane El Kadi, which, moreover, is not an isolated case of the process of systematic violations of press freedom.
With this in mind, the European parliamentarians ask the Algerian authorities to immediately release all those arbitrarily detained and charged for exercising their right to freedom, including the case of journalist Ihsane El Kadi, director of Radio M and Maghreb Emergent, rare independent media in Algeria.
It should be recalled that this journalist, who has been in detention since the end of December 2022, was sentenced to three years in prison on April 2, 2023 for unfounded charges of illegal fundraising, undermining state security and public order. His media company Interface has been dissolved and its assets confiscated.
The resolution calls on the Algerian authorities to amend the security-related charges in the criminal code, used to criminalize the right to freedom of expression.
The resolution indicates that since the Hirak protests in 2019, the press freedom situation has deteriorated significantly in Algeria, with the authorities blocking more and more information and publication sites critical of the government.
The EP urges all EU institutions and Member States to openly condemn the repression of press freedom in Algeria, while calling on the EU delegation and the countries’ embassies to request access to imprisoned journalists and to attend the trials.
The EP resolution urges the Algerian authorities to guarantee the issuance of the necessary visas and authorizations to foreign journalists and media so that they can work freely.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) was quick to congratulate the EP on the adoption of this emergency resolution through a publication by its Representative to the EU, Mrs Julie MAJERCZAK, on the same day, May 11, 2023, on the RSF website in the following terms:
“With this resolution, the European Parliament has shown that it does not intend to remain silent in response to the crackdown on the last independent media outlets in Algeria, even though this country is an important economic partner. With Ihsane El Kadi’s appeal due to be heard in the coming days, we urge the European Commission and EU member states to do everything possible to ensure that this journalist recovers his freedom. The Algerian authorities need to realise that muzzling the media is a dangerous path that, in the long run, will not be to their advantage”.