Event Summary
On 3 December 2025, the Tizi Ouzou Court of Appeals upheld the seven-year prison sentence handed down to French journalist Christophe Gleizes, who has been incarcerated since 29 June 2025. As a soccer specialist for the So Press group, he was arrested while working on a report and a book project about the JS Kabylie club. He is being prosecuted for “apology/glorification of terrorism” and “possession of propaganda publications harmful to the national interest” for meeting and interviewing people described as close to the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie (MAK), classified as a terrorist organization by Algeria.
The French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs officially stated that they “deeply regretted” the confirmation of this sentence, recalling the journalist’s full cooperation with the authorities and expressing its concern for press freedom. Organizations such as Reporters Without Borders denounced the decision as disproportionate and politically motivated.
Beyond Christophe Gleizes’ individual situation, this ruling illustrates the use of anti-terrorism legislation to crack down on ordinary journalistic activities and sends an extremely dissuasive signal not only to local media, but also to foreign journalists working on sensitive topics such as Kabylie, security, memory and protest movements.