Constant harassment of journalists condemned

Reporters Without Borders deplored continuing harassment of independent journalists in Algeria after the managing editor of the daily paper Le Matin, Mohamed Benchicou, and cartoonist Ali Dilem, of the daily Liberté, were arrested today and taken to Algiers central police station. It demanded that efforts to intimidate those who dared to criticise or poke fun at the regime cease immediately and said it expected to see proper legal procedures strictly followed. It noted that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika had presented himself as a supporter of press freedom before the European Parliament in June and had said that "no media outlet or journalist has been persecuted in Algeria." Benchicou and Dilem had defied three police summonses on grounds that journalists "do not have to submit their work for police inspection." They told a press conference they would not obey any more summonses and would keep any explanations or arguments "for the courts alone." Dilem said he had confidence in Algeria's legal system.