ALGIERS, 13 August 2004 — An Algerian judge on Wednesday rejected an appeal by one of the country’s leading newspaper editors jailed for the illegal transfer of money in a case human rights groups say is a cover by authorities to silence criticism.
Mohamed Benchicou, known for his newspaper Le Matin’s opposition to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was appealing a two-year prison term he received in June. The prosecutor wanted the sentence extended to three years.
Youcef Rezzoug, editor in chief of the French-language daily Le Matin said, “It’s not a surprise. We did not expect the court to ease the sentence.” “It is a very severe sentence,” Khaled Bergheul, one of his lawyers, told AFP. “Two years is too much. We are really disappointed.” He said the case would be taken to the Supreme Court and said the case had been “political.” Another lawyer on the defense team, Miloud Brahimi, argued “there is no offence... There was no movement of capital, so there was no breaking of the law,” he said, adding that cases of this sort were unknown in Algeria.
Independent newspapers attacked the original court decision as an attempt to muzzle it. But Justice Minister Tayeb Belaiz said the prosecution had “nothing to do with the press, freedom of expression or politics.”
Le Matin suspended publication last month after state-owned printing houses refused to publish it for failing to pay debts. The recent spate of imprisonments has raised concerns abroad about press freedom in a country trying to improve its image after more than a decade since a brutal Islamic uprising, which is estimated to have cost the lives of more than 150,000 people.
