DETAINED JOURNALIST RELEASED, TRIES TO KEEP LOW

UNCLAS ALGIERS 002162

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

TUNIS FOR MULREAN AND WOLCOTT

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM AG
SUBJECT: DETAINED JOURNALIST RELEASED, TRIES TO KEEP LOW
PROFILE

REF: A. ALGIERS 01894

B. ALGIERS 01940


1. (SBU) On December 18 Algerian authorities released the
director of the low-circulation Arabic-language daily "El
Fedjr" following her incarceration December 7 on year-old
charges of bouncing a check for USD 21,400 to a
government-owned printing company. Hadda Hazzam's lawyer
refused to comment on the case, but the head of Algeria's
union of journalists said she had been released after paying
an unspecified fine. Hazzam was arrested at the Algiers
airport while waiting to board a flight to Beirut to attend a
conference of Arab journalists. The top administrator at El
Fedjr conceded that Hazzam had signed the check in question,
but claimed that it had been prepared by a "dishonest
accountant" who no longer worked for the newspaper.
According to Hazzam's brother, she did not know about the
outstanding arrest warrant, which happened to contain the
address of a house she had not occupied in years. In
addition, an Embassy contact in the Algerian border police
told us that Hazzam was carrying at the time of her arrest a
"significant amount of money" that she claimed was for
shopping in Lebanon but had not declared to Algerian customs.
(Note: All passengers leaving Algeria must declare cash
holdings in excess of USD 10,000. End note.)


2. (SBU) Hazzam was one of four women featured in
"Algeriennes," a MEPI-sponsored documentary about
contemporary Algerian women that opened in November (ref A).
El Fedjr receives training and technical assistance under a
MEPI-sponsored program affiliated with New York University.
The paper's reputation is one of nonpartisanship and
gradually improving journalistic tradecraft, but also
generally poor financial management. Besides the debt it has
incurred to the government, El Fedjr pays its journalists
relatively low wages, according to journalist contacts.


3. (SBU) In contrast to other jailed reporters, such as
Mohammed Benchicou and the two journalists sentenced in
October for defamation of Moammar Qadhafi (ref B),Hazzam
struggled to maintain a low profile from prison. An Embassy
journalist contact told us that Hazzam was irate that
Algerian papers had covered her arrest despite her demands
not to do so. Hazzam's brother implored the secretary
general of the Algerian journalists union to instruct the
press not to cover what he characterized as a mere "family
issue" -- a possible reference to Hazzam's financial problems
resulting from an ongoing divorce.


4. (SBU) COMMENT: We have seen no indication that Hazzam's
arrest is a result of the editorial policies of her paper or
of her personal affiliation with MEPI. Hazzam's longstanding
debt to the Algerian government seems the likely cause of her
incarceration. Hazzam is a well-known newspaper editor; her
brother's claim that the original arrest warrant went to the
wrong address seems dubious at best. It is not clear at this
time whether her silence is a reflection of her culpability,
desire for privacy for her family, or deeper fear --
justified or not -- of government reaction. End Comment.


5. (U) Tripoli minimize considered.
DAUGHTON