Journalist sentenced to two years’ imprisonment
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Journalist sentenced to two years’ imprisonment
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The Writers in Prison Committee of International
PEN is concerned by the two-year prison sentence handed down
on June 14, 2004 to Algerian journalist Mohammed Benchicou.
The director of the private daily newspaper
Le Matin was found guilty of currency exchange
control violations but it is believed that
the charge may have been used by
the Algerian authorities as a pretext to silence the newspaper in
the run up to the presidential elections.
Benchicou, who has begun his sentence in the
El-Harrach prison in Algiers, was also fined 20m dinars (c. US$280,000).
On his return from France on August 23, 2003, Benchicou was
apprehended in possession of some credit notes
(equivalent to bank cheques)issued by an Algerian bank. It is unclear
whether Benchicou actually broke the
law by his actions. However, what
is certain is that custodial sentences for
such offenses are extremely rare and the sentence
meted out to Benchicou is unusually harsh.
The journalist himself has claimed that the action taken
against him is politically motivated
and was brought about by the Algerian
interior minister Yazid Zerhouni. Last year, a
Le Matin article accused Zerhouni of involvement in
torturing prisoners in the 1970s during his
service as a commander in military security. At a press conference
in Djelfa in 2003, Zerhouni reportedly insinuated
that Benchicou would “pay” for the accusations made in Le Matin.
International PEN makes no judgment about whether Mohammed
Benchicou was properly found
guilty of currency exchange control violations.
However, PEN does raise
its concerns over the apparent political
nature of the prosecution and sentencing, and
calls for Mohammed Benchicou to be released pending a fair and
open review of his case.
Recommended Actions
Please send appeals:
Algiers Algeria fax: +213 21 686480 e-mail: president@el-mouradia.dz
M. Tayeb Belaiz
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