Event Summary
On 21 October 2025, the court of Hussein-Dey (Algiers) sentenced Algerian opposition leader Fethi Ghares to two years in prison, along with a fine of 300,000 dinars (about USD 3200), for allegedly “insulting the President of the Republic”, “insulting a constituted body” and “spreading false information likely to undermine public order and security”. He remains provisionally free pending appeal. According to his lawyers, the case is linked to public statements in which he criticized President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, particularly regarding the announced revision of the electoral law and the law on political parties. He was arrested on 29 September 2025, shortly after these statements, and then prosecuted. This conviction comes after several successive criminal proceedings against him since 2021, including sentences already handed down in 2022, 2024 and 2025 for political remarks, signaling an escalating pattern of judicial harassment. The ruling undermines freedom of expression and association, shrinking civic space and creating a chilling effect on civil society actors who fear reprisals for dissent.