Algeria cuts jail time for historian who questioned Amazigh culture

An Algiers appeals court on Tuesday reduced historian Mohamed Amine Belghit's prison sentence from five years to three, with two years suspended, following his conviction over comments dismissing the existence of Amazigh culture. (X/@algatedz)

• He was arrested in May and charged with undermining national unity and spreading hate speech
• His lawyer said the appeals court had reduced the sentence “to three years in prison and two years suspended“

ALGIERS: An Algiers appeals court on Tuesday reduced historian Mohamed Amine Belghit’s prison sentence from five years to three, with two years suspended, following his conviction over comments dismissing the existence of Amazigh culture.
The Amazigh, often called Berbers, are North Africa’s indigenous people, predating the Arab conquests of the 7th century, with communities across Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and beyond.
Belghit was originally sentenced in July after saying in a televised interview that “the Amazigh language is an ideological project of Franco-Zionist origin,” and that “there’s no such thing as Amazigh culture.”
He was arrested in May and charged with undermining national unity and spreading hate speech, as well as insulting national symbols, prosecutors said at the time.
On Tuesday, his lawyer Toufik Hichour said on Facebook that the appeals court had reduced the sentence “to three years in prison and two years suspended.”
Belghit, a university professor, is no stranger to controversy.
His remarks have repeatedly sparked outrage, with critics accusing him of historical revisionism and hostility toward the Amazigh community.
Algeria granted official status to Tamazight, the language of the Amazigh, in 2016.
The following year, the Amazigh new year celebration, Yennayer, was added to the list of national holidays.