Event Summary
On 4 December 2025, the Bir Mourad Raïs court (Algiers) sentenced Algerian journalist Saâd Bouakba to a three-year suspended prison sentence and a fine of one million dinars for “insulting and defaming” the “symbols of the National Liberation Revolution” and for “spreading false information” via information and communication technologies.
The case stems from a program broadcast on the web TV channel Vision TV, in which the journalist discussed the “FLN treasure affair” and questioned the historical management of certain funds belonging to the National Liberation Front. The channel’s management was also prosecuted: the owner of Vision TV was given a one-year suspended prison sentence and fined. Above all, the heaviest penalty for the media environment is the permanent closure of Vision TV and the confiscation of all its equipment, thus depriving the audiovisual landscape of another critical voice.
This episode is part of a broader context of restrictions targeting the print, broadcast, and online media, marked by an increase in criminal prosecutions against journalists and the closure of independent media outlets. Political actors such as the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD) have publicly called for the journalist’s release and the lifting of the seal on Vision TV, highlighting the seriousness of the precedent set for freedom of expression.