Three journalists face prison in legal tussle over cartoon

Reporters Without Borders today noted with concern an upsurge in legal proceedings against members of the media as the trial of three journalists on the daily Liberté ended with the state prosecutor making an outrageous call for jail sentences against them. The prosecutor on 1st June called for two months imprisonment for editor, Ali Ouafak, managing editor, Farid Alilat, and cartoonist Ali Dilem for “defamation” under Article 146 of the press law which provides for prison sentences for insulting state bodies. The offending cartoon, published on 29 July 2004, of retired Chief of Staff of the Algerian Army, General Mohamed Lamari, prompted a complaint from the defence ministry to the Sidi M'hammed correctional court in Algiers. The court is set to deliver its verdict on 15 June. “With days to go before sentence in this case, we appeal to the justice system to show restraint and discernment. Since the Algerian authorities always turn a deaf ear to calls to amend the draconian law on the press, we hope that the judges will not serve any political interests by insisting on handing down harsh sentences to the Liberté journalists” the worldwide press freedom organisation said. “Ali Dilem's cartoons, which are widely appreciated outside Algeria, should be seen for what they are, journalistic sketches that justify a degree of mockery”, it added. Diliem is already under a suspended prison sentence and could end up behind bars if he was sentenced again. He has had a total of more than 20 legal cases brought against him. Lawyer for Liberté, Khaled Burayu, told Reporters Without Borders that he had urged the court to show tolerance over the cartoons. “We would like Algerian jurisprudence to take a lead from European jurisprudence which provides for moderation. The cartoonist did not act in bad faith,” he added. Two journalists on the daily al-Watan were sentenced to two months in prison for defamation in March this year in a suit brought by the prefect of the eastern region of Jijel. Other Algerian journalists have regularly been brought before the court in a number of similar cases.