1. After Algerian authorities shut down the pro-democracy protests known as Hirak, the number of trumped-up terrorism prosecutions has soared. Legal actions have been initiated against NGOs and opposition political parties, while the crackdown on human rights defenders and the legal profession has intensified. Independent media also remains under pressure, with journalists being regularly imprisoned or prosecuted. For example, on April 2, 2023, high-profile Algerian journalist Ihsane El Kadi was sentenced to three years in prison by the Sidi M’Hamed court in Algiers, which accused him of “foreign financing of his business”. His media company Interfaces Media was also closed and heavily fined.
2. In early 2023, several pieces of legislation restricting fundamental rights were passed, including a draft law on the exercise of trade union rights and a draft organic law on information. Please see the Pending NGO Legislative / Regulatory Initiatives section below in this report for more details.