Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Marzoug Touati
| Publisher | Committee to Protect Journalists |
| Publication Date | 31 December 2017 |
| Cite as | Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Marzoug Touati, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c936c7.html [accessed 25 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Al-Hogra | Imprisoned in Algeria | January 18, 2017
| Job: | Editor, Internet Reporter |
| Medium: | Internet |
| Beats Covered: | Corruption, Politics |
| Gender: | Male |
| Local or Foreign: | Local |
| Freelance: | No |
| Charge: | Anti-state |
| Length of Sentence: | Not Sentenced |
| Reported Health Problems: | No |
Algerian security forces arrested Marzoug Touati at his home in the coastal city of Béjaïa on January 18, 2017, and have since held him in administrative detention on treason and incitement charges, according to his employer, lawyer, and news reports.
According to the London-based regional daily Al-Sharq al-Awsat, security forces interrogated Touati about a YouTube video he published on January 9, 2017, that shows an interview he conducted via teleconference with Hasan Kaabiah, an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson.
In that interview, the official said Israel has had a liaison office in Algiers since before 2000.
Algeria and Israel do not have full diplomatic relations, and Algeria's government is frequently critical of Israeli actions.
A Béjaïa court on January 22, 2017, remanded Touati to administrative detention on charges of "talking to the agents of a foreign power with the intention of causing harm to Algeria's army, diplomatic relations, and financial interests," and "inciting citizens to carry weapons and gather illegally," his lawyer, Salah Dabouz, told CPJ in February. According to Algeria's penal code, the first charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and the second charge is punishable by death. In Algeria, administrative detention can be renewed for up to 44 months.
Dabouz told CPJ that Touati has denied the charges.
During Touati's interview with Kaabiah, the journalist asked for the official's reaction to Algerian Housing and Urban Development Minister Abdelmadjid Tebboune's allegations that planned protests against inflation were organized by foreign countries, including Israel, and that Israel was behind the Arab Spring.
The judge refused Touati's multiple requests to summon witnesses who could have an integral role in the case, according to a post Dabouz wrote on Facebook.
The judge also refused to release the journalist on a provisional basis, according to Dabouz, who said the court should either release or convict the journalist if prosecutors have evidence against him.
To protest his arrest and the "refusal of all his requests," Touati has waged three hunger strikes since his arrest, according to his lawyer and news reports. The journalist started his most recent hunger strike on September 14, his lawyer told CPJ in late October. As a result of the hunger strikes, Touati has become very weak and his health has deteriorated, his lawyer said.
No trial date had been set as of late 2017.
