By News18
The family of a French sports journalist, sentenced to seven years in prison in Algeria, is seeking assistance from the sporting community and football legend Zin茅dine Zidane.
Christophe Gleizes, a 36-year-old freelance sportswriter, received his sentence last week due to an interview with a football official linked to a banned separatist movement, in a case that rights groups argue criminalises standard reporting.
Gleizes, who had contributed to the magazines So Foot and Society, travelled to Algeria last year to cover JS Kabylie, the country鈥檚 historically dominant football team.
He was arrested and placed under judicial supervision over a year ago for entering Algeria without a proper visa, 鈥済lorifying terrorism,鈥 and 鈥減ossessing propaganda publications harmful to the national interest,鈥 according to Reporters Without Borders.
Thibaut Bruttin, Reporters Without Borders鈥 director general, criticised the authorities鈥 decision to hold Gleizes for 13 months before sentencing, calling it an example of 鈥渁bsurd judicial control鈥 and described the seven-year sentence as 鈥渘onsensical.鈥 The press freedom group stated that Gleizes planned to appeal the sentences on Monday.
What did the relatives say?
Gleizes鈥 relatives appeared on French television on Thursday night, urging sports figures to support his case.
鈥淚t would be great if Zin茅dine Zidane were to get involved in this fight,鈥 said Gleizes鈥 father-in-law, Francis Godard, on France 2 channel. 鈥淎fter all, it鈥檚 a fight for both freedom of the press and the world of football. Journalists are mobilised, as we know, but we would like the sporting world to be just as mobilised. Christophe is a sports journalist and is therefore interested in the business of sport. This concerns the world of sport very directly.鈥
Gleizes was tried and convicted, although prosecutors have not publicly announced the charges and Algerian officials have not commented on the case.
However, authorities have previously faced criticism from rights advocates, who claim Algeria uses anti-terrorism laws to suppress political speech.
Reporters Without Borders indicated that the charges against Gleizes resulted from his contact with the head of a football club who was also a member of a political movement that Algeria designated as a terrorist group four years ago.
The French journalist鈥檚 sentence comes as relations between France and Algeria reach new levels of hostility, with the two countries clashing over migration, extradition, trade, and France鈥檚 change in position regarding the status of the disputed Western Sahara.
(With AP Inputs)