Two months suspended sentences for Youssef Rezzoug and Fatma-Zohra Khalfi

Reporters Without Borders has expressed its anger over two-month suspended prison sentences handed down by the Alger correctional court on 31 December to two journalists charged with "illegal assembly and threatening public order". Youssef Rezzoug, editor in chief of the daily Le Matin and Fatma Zohra Khalfi, journalist at the Algérie Presse Service, who were also each fined 2,000 dinars (23 euros), were sentenced in connection with a protest gathering they attended to show support for two detained journalists. "Until the very twilight of the year, 2003 was marked by a deterioration in press freedom in Algeria. The campaign of harassment against the independent press in Algeria, begun by the government this summer against a pre-election background, has continued with disastrous results," said Robert Ménard, secretary general of Reporters Without Borders. "Now journalists don't even have the right to demonstrate their solidarity with colleagues," he complained. The case goes back to 8 September when journalists from various newspapers, political and human rights activists gathered outside the Alger police station where cartoonist for Liberté, Ali Dilem, and Mohammed Benchicou, publisher of Le Matin, were being held under committal orders. Youssef Rezzoug and his wife, Fatma Zohra Khalfi and Yacine Téguia, an activist with the Social and Democratic Movement (MDS) were arrested. Their lawyers, who condemned the political character of their 31 December trial, argued that they should be acquitted because the criminal code did not bar solidarity action. They also pointed out that assembly was not forbidden under any article of the code.