Human Rights Watch, World Report 2025

Country Report: Algeria (Part 1)

​Algerian authorities continued to crush dissent and close civic space by cracking down on critical voices and restricting freedom of expression, the press, association, assembly, and movement. 

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune was re-elected for a second term in September in a climate of repression and muzzling of the media, absent genuine political debate. 
Authorities continue to repress critical voices, including in the media, prosecuting activists, journalists, and lawyers for peaceful expression. 
Authorities tightened criminal legislation and continued to use repressive laws against dissent, including anti-terrorism provisions. 

Presidential Election 
Abdelmadjid Tebboune was re-elected for a second term with 84.3 percent of the vote in the September 7 ballot. During the election campaign, several dozen people were arrested in connection with peaceful statements or activism, according to Zakaria Hannache, a human rights defender monitoring the situation. Tebboune first acceded to the presidency in December 2019, after a low-turnout presidential election contested by peaceful Hirak protests and followed by arrests of dozens of activists. 

Freedom of Expression 
Authorities continue to crack down on freedom of expression. Dozens of people have been detained in connection with the exercise of their fundamental rights, including activists, lawyers, journalists, and social media users, according to Hannache.

Activist Mohamed Tadjadit, who has been harassed by security forces and imprisoned several times since 2019, was arrested in January and detained on charges of “apology of terrorism” and “use of communication technologies to support the actions and activities of terrorist organizations.” He was released by presidential decree on October 31 on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of Algeria’s war of independence.

On July 23, an Algiers court sentenced him in another case to six months' imprisonment for “publications likely to harm national interest” and “inciting an unarmed gathering.” 

On July 4, French-Algerian artist Djamila Bentouis was sentenced to two years in prison and a fine by an Algiers court in connection with a song she performed denouncing repression of the Hirak protests. Bentouis was interrogated at the airport upon entering Algeria in February and detained on March 3. She was charged under anti-terrorism legislation and convicted of “undermining national interest” in videos and “inciting an unarmed gathering.” UN experts urged the Algerian Court of Appeal to overturn Bentouis’ prison sentence and clear her of all charges. On October 2, her sentence was reduced to 18 months in prison on appeal. 

On August 6, political activist and member of the suspended Democratic and Social Movement party, Yacine Mekireche, was arrested and detained for Facebook posts. He was charged with “spreading hate speech” and “inciting an unarmed gathering.” He was sentenced in November to six months in prison. 

Freedom of Media 
Authorities continued to crack down on the press and arrest and imprison journalists for carrying out their work. Reporters Without Borders ranked Algeria 139th out of 180 countries on its press freedom barometer for 2024, down three places from 2023. 

In January, a Constantine court sentenced independent journalist Fouzia Amrani to a year's imprisonment – later reduced to eight months – for “insulting a state official.” 
On June 27, the director of online media outlet Algeria Scoop, Omar Ferhat, and its editor- in-chief, Sofiane Ghirous, were detained for airing a video critical of authorities and prosecuted for “spreading hate speech,” according to the National Committee for the Liberation of Detainees. 

​On June 13, the Algiers Court of Appeal upheld the dissolution of Interface Médias, the media company of journalist Ihsane El Kadi, who was imprisoned for almost two years, for “operating an audiovisual communication service without authorization.” 
El Kadi, Ferhat, and Ghirous were released by presidential decree on October 31. 
Human Rights Watch, World Report 2025. New York.