Media freedom has seen a sharp decline in Algeria. Many subjects, including corruption, the assets of the country’s leaders, and the president’s health, are still off limits and the economic throttling of independent media outlets continues. Four bloggers and media professionals were jailed on criminal charges in 2016, and the death of Mohamed Tamalt on December 11th shocked public opinion and raised questions about prison conditions. Tamalt was a journalist with British and Algerian dual nationality jailed for allegedly insulting the president in posts on social networks. He had been on hunger strike for several months and was severely mistreated while in detention. His death was not investigated and his family’s request for an alternative autopsy has so far been ignored.