Reporters Without Borders dismayed by verdict against journalist Hassan Bourras

Reporters Without Borders voiced dismay over the verdict on appeal against Algerian journalist Hassan Bourras under which he was ordered to pay compensation of 100,000 dinars (about 1,000 euros) for defamation but lifting a two-year jail term. The international press freedom organisation said that while it was relieved that the prison sentence handed down at an earlier hearing had not been upheld the sentence remained unacceptable in principle. Bourras appeared before a court in Saida in the south west of the country on 23 December where, in addition to compensation, he was fined 10,000 dinars (about 100 euros). "The original two-year prison sentence imposed was particularly heavy and demonstrated the determination of the authorities to intimidate local correspondents," said Reporters Without Borders. "Even if the Algerian court system did not confirm the earlier verdict, the total in damages to be paid is no less heavy and above all unfair." Bourras was sentenced on 6 November, by a court in Al-Bayadh, western Algeria, to two years in prison, together with a five-year ban on practising his profession. He is the correspondent in al-Bayadh of several daily newspapers, including Al-Djazaïri (an Oran regional newspaper) and Al-Youm (a national daily), and a member of the Algeria League for Human Rights. Bourras was imprisoned from 6 November to 2 December. The particularly harsh jail term stemmed from two articles that appeared in Al-Djazaïri. In one of them, the journalist revealed that the wife of the local prosecutor had forged an administrative document to get herself a job. In another he reported on a land scandal at al-Bayadh that implicated local public figures. Bourras still has in his possession all the evidence and testimonies on the two cases that confirm his revelations.