Algeria: UN experts recognise the detention of Ihsane El Kadi as arbitrary
In an opinion published on 4 April 2025, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention acknowledged that the detention of Algerian journalist Ihsane El Kadi from 24 December to 1 November was arbitrary. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the Algerian authorities to allow the outlets of Interface Médias, the press group where Ihsane El Kadi is a director, to finally resume their operations.
In a rare move, UN experts found that the detention of the director of Radio M and the news site Maghreb Emergent was arbitrary under four categories of arbitrary detention defined by the UN body. These experts have officially recognised that the decision to deprive Ihsane El Kadi of his liberty was not based on legal grounds, violated his right to freedom of expression and his right to a fair trial, and was discriminatory as it was motivated by his journalism.
This unequivocal finding underscores the wholly unlawful nature of Ihsane El Kadi imprisonment under international standards. The journalist and press director had been sentenced on appeal on 18 June 2023 to seven years in prison, five of which were obligatory, for allegedly receiving “funds and advantages from a foreign source for the purpose of engaging in political propaganda” and having “undermined State security [...] and public order.”
"Though long overdue, we welcome this strong decision, which vindicates RSF and journalist Ihsane El Kadi. Faced with the evidence, UN experts could only conclude that he was the victim of an absolutely arbitrary punitive measure. We call on the Algerian authorities to fully acknowledge the implications of this finding, to ensure justice is done and cease the repressive practices against independent journalists.
Beyond recognising the arbitrary nature of Ihsane El Kadi’s detention, the Working Group has encouraged the Algerian authorities to align their legislation and practices with international law and carry out a thorough investigation into the circumstances of the journalist’s arbitrary detention in order to hold those responsible to account.
A bittersweet victory
This powerful decision comes more than two years after RSF and Ihsane El Kadi’s family initiated the legal procedure and five months after the journalist’s release from prison. Pardoned by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on 30 October 2024, Ihsane El Kadi spent 22 months in prison simply because he was a journalist — there were no legal grounds for his incarceration. The assets of his publishing company remain confiscated as the Algiers Court of Appeal sentenced him to a fine of ten million Algerian dinars (around €70,000) and ordered him to pay one million dinars (around €7,000) in damages to the country’s broadcast regulator.
What’s more, Radio M has still not been able to resume its activities after a court ruling in June 2024 ordered the dissolution of Interface Médias, the parent company of Radio M and Maghreb Emergent. His passport has still not been returned to him, which effectively constitutes a ban on leaving the national territory.
#FreeIhsaneElKadi: A major international campaign
RSF led a major international campaign for the release of Ihsane El Kadi, who is widely respected in Algeria and abroad for his journalistic integrity. In addition to appealing to the Working Group, RSF also appealed to the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, as well as the Media Freedom Coalition. RSF also brought together 16 editors-in-chief from 14 countries, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov, to call for Ihsane El Kadi’s release. The international petition launched by RSF to secure the journalist’s freedom gathered more than 20,000 signatures. In March 2023, RSF symbolically delivered 13,000 envelopes to the Algerian Embassy in Paris, representing the first wave of signatures.
