An Algerian court has sentenced journalist Abdelali Mezghiche to three years in prison and fined him 200,000 Algerian dinars, about US$1,500, over social media posts, in a case press freedom groups say criminalises journalism. The court in Chéraga, west of Algiers, delivered the verdict on Sunday, 8 November 2026.

Mezghiche was convicted on five misdemeanour charges, including publishing content deemed harmful to the national interest, inciting unarmed gatherings and disseminating hate speech. Prosecutors had sought a five-year sentence and the same fine at a hearing on 25 October. His defence team plans to appeal, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Three years and a fine

Mezghiche was convicted under Articles 96 and 100 of Algeria's penal code, which criminalise distributing publications deemed harmful to the national interest and inciting unarmed gatherings. The CPJ has called on the Algerian authorities to release him immediately and unconditionally, overturn his conviction and stop prosecuting journalists for exercising their right to freedom of expression.

His lawyer, Abdellah Haboul, confirmed to the news outlet Maghreb Emergent that the defence would appeal the judgment before the Algiers court, meaning the case has not yet reached its final stage. Haboul had told the outlet that the sentence followed a trial held on 25 October, after which the court reserved its decision until 8 November.

Nine months in detention

The case dates back to 5 February 2026, when state security officers arrested Mezghiche in Algiers over posts on his Facebook page, which has more than 130,000 followers. The posts reported on public anger in Djanet, in the south-east of the country, after the imprisonment of local figures.

An investigating judge at the Chéraga Court ordered his pretrial detention on 9 February, and he has been held in Kolea Prison in the northern province of Tipaza ever since — about nine months behind bars before the verdict was delivered, according to Maghreb Emergent.

Mezghiche has worked for Algeria's state-owned public television broadcaster since 2005, where he has presented cultural programmes. He is also a freelance journalist who has contributed to the local news website ZDZ, and he is known as a poet.

Press freedom under pressure

The sentence has drawn condemnation from press freedom organisations. The CPJ said in February that at least five journalists were behind bars in Algeria in connection with their work, and the Mezghiche verdict has renewed attention on the space available for independent journalism in the country.

The case also comes as French journalist Christophe Gleizes marked 500 days in detention in Algeria on Wednesday, 11 November. Gleizes, a contributor to French magazines So Foot and Society, had a seven-year prison sentence for "glorifying terrorism" upheld by an appeals court in December 2025.

For Mezghiche, the appeal now offers the next step in a case that began with Facebook posts about a local dispute in the Sahara and has become a test of how far Algerian journalists can report on public discontent.