Algeria hands 7-year jail sentence to French football journalist

A court in Tizi Ouzou has sentenced French journalist Christophe Gleizes to seven years in prison for “glorifying terrorism” and “possessing propaganda materials harmful to national interests.” But his genuine crime: reporting on football in the Kabylie region.

Gleizes,a contributor to So Foot and Society magazines,had traveled to Algeria in May 2024 to cover the legacy of JS Kabylie,one of Africa’s most storied football clubs.

He also planned to write about the late Cameroonian striker Albert Ebossé,who died under suspicious circumstances in 2014,and to interview local football figures. Instead,he was arrested on May 28,2024,and placed under judicial control for over a year before being abruptly sentenced in June 2025.

The charges stem from his past journalistic contact with a figure linked to the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie (MAK),a group Algeria designated a terrorist organization in 2021. However,most of Gleizes’ interactions with this individual occurred years before that designation,and his 2024 contact was part of his reporting assignment,according to press watchdogs.

His arrest triggered denunciations from Reporters without Borders and other international press watchdogs along with journalists in France and beyond.

Reporters Without Borders called the verdict “nonsensical” and “a political message disguised as justice.” RSF’s director general,Thibaut Bruttin,said: “This sentence demonstrates one thing: in Algeria today,nothing escapes politics”

The U.S. State Department,in its most recent human rights report,criticized Algeria’s use of “threats to state security” and “terrorism-related charges” to silence journalists and dissidents. The report noted a pattern of arbitrary arrests,travel bans,and prolonged pretrial detentions targeting media professionals.

Gleizes’ imprisonment sends a chilling message to both local and foreign journalists: reporting in Algeria can land you in prison. The case underscores the regime’s increasing reliance on anti-terrorism laws to suppress dissent,particularly in the Kabylie region,where demands for independence have long been met with brutal crackdowns.

As Algeria continues to jail journalists under vague national security pretexts,international pressure is mounting. Rights groups are calling on the French government,the European Union,and the United Nations to demand Gleizes’ immediate release and to hold Algeria accountable for its escalating assault on press freedom.