Event Summary
On 19 March 2026, the Algerian Presidency announced two presidential pardon decrees on the occasion of Eid El-Fitr. The first provides for a full pardon for 5,600 detained or non-detained persons, definitively convicted, whose remaining sentence is 24 months or less. The second concerns offences related to public order, in particular cybercrime and acts related to social networks. However, this announcement does not publicly specify what types of expressive, opinion, or activist cases are actually covered, or how many prosecuted in this context would really benefit from it. Above all, unlike the December 2024 announcement, the 19 March 2026 press release does not mention “appeasement measures” for people in detention provisional or awaiting trial in cases of public order. The event can therefore be read as a limited, discretionary and partial leniency measure, which does not provide a structural response to the restrictions on civic space and leaves intact the uncertainty surrounding those detained or prosecuted for acts related to expression, and civic activity.