In Algeria, the lawyers of journalist Ishane El Kadi denounce a mock trial

For Ishane El Kadi’s lawyers, this is a serious attack on the presumption of innocence. On February 24 on state television, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune accused the journalist imprisoned since December 29 “of being in the pay of foreign powers”, and described as “illegal” the media he directs, Radio M and Maghreb Emergent, both closed and placed under seal.

Boycott

Under these conditions, the journalist does not intend to go to the hearing scheduled for Sunday, March 12. He also did not wish to answer questions during the investigation. In a press release published on March 9, the international collective which defends him, made up of nine lawyers, considers that “the conditions are far from being met for a fair trial which guarantees his rights as stipulated in Algerian legislation and the international conventions ratified by Algeria”.

Ishane El Kadi is prosecuted for “receiving funds and benefits from foreign sources for the purpose of engaging in political propaganda”, but everything accredits a detention because of his opinions. Requests for the journalist’s release from pre-trial detention have all been rejected, despite strong guarantees. The processing of these requests is “tainted with irregularity”, assure defenders, “of which the most notable was, on January 15, 2023, the meeting of the indictment chamber in his absence and in the absence of his lawyers” .

Sans caution

This does not bode well for the future. “If he refuses to speak to the judges, it is to avoid giving credit to this trial which only has the appearance of it”, underlines a source close to the family, who does not doubt for a moment that he will be sentenced, although a verdict is unlikely on Sunday. Ishane El Kadi’s lawyers are also asking for “the release of the seals of Radio M and Maghreb Émergent, which penalize more than thirty employees and their families”.

The Reporters Without Borders (RSF) petition for the journalist’s release has received 11,428 signatures so far, and in January the NGO seized the UN rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression . In 2022, Algeria was already ranked 134th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2022 World Press Freedom Index.

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