An Algerian journalist who played a prominent role in covering the country's pro-democracy movement last year was sentenced Monday to three years in prison for inciting unauthorized demonstrations and attacking national unity.
Dozens of journalists and activists in the Hirak movement protested outside the courthouse, chanting “Free Drareni!” Khaled Drareni's arrest in March drew widespread condemnation among protesters and media watchdog groups such as Reporters Without Borders.
Drareni worked with the organization, led the news website Casbah Tribune and drew a widespread social media following for his coverage of protests that helped bring down Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
Along with sending him to prison, the court in Sidi M'Hamed ordered the journalist to pay a fine of 50,000 dinars (about $400), according to the National Committee for the Release of Detainees.
During the trial, which was held by videoconference because of the coronavirus, Drareni denied wrongdoing and said he was only working as an independent journalist and exercising his right to inform.
At least one other Algerian journalist is currently awaiting trial, according to Reporters Without Borders, known by its French acronym RSF.
Mass demonstrations brought down Algeria's long-time president and his entourage in April 2019. While a new president was elected in December, the pro-democracy movement is seeking deeper change in a nation whose rulers have been shadowed by the army since it gained independence from France in 1962.