Algerian justice has confirmed the provisional detention of press boss Ihsane El Kadi, imprisoned at the end of December as part of an investigation for illegal fundraising and alleged attack on state security, we learned on Monday from of the defense.
The indictment chamber of the Court of Algiers rejected on Sunday the appeal lodged by the journalist against his imprisonment, in "
the absence of his lawyers
", Me Mostefa Bouchachi told AFP.
An "attack on state security and stability"
“
The hearing, originally scheduled for Wednesday, was brought forward to Sunday without the knowledge of defense lawyers, who were not informed of this decision.
It is a violation of the right of defence
,” he added.
Ihsane El Kadi, director of the Algerian station Radio M and the Maghreb Émergent news site, was remanded in custody on 29 December after four days in police custody.
He is suspected "
of having received sums of money and privileges from persons and organizations in the country and abroad in order to engage in activities likely to undermine the security of the State and its stability
”, had then indicated the Court of Algiers.
The day after Ihsane El Kadi's arrest, the headquarters of the Interface Médias agency, which publishes Radio M and Maghreb Émergent, was sealed off and the equipment seized.
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The two media said in a statement that, since Sunday afternoon, they were "
inaccessible for many of our readers in certain areas in Algeria and on different internet providers (ADSL and mobile)
" "
Our technical team is in the process of to diagnose the sources of this problem in an attempt to restore normal accessibility to our media
,” they added.
Last week, 16 media bosses from various countries, including the Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitri Muratov, brought together by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), called for his release and the lifting of the “
unacceptable
” obstacles aimed at his media.
According to RSF, the arrest of Ihsane El Kadi "come
just a few days after the publication of articles critical of the authorities
", has a "
political motivation
".
Algeria ranks 134th out of 180 countries in the world press freedom ranking established by RSF in 2022.