Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09ALGIERS221
2009-03-03 16:37:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Algiers
Cable title:
DEFAMATION CHARGE LANDS NEWSPAPER DIRECTOR IN JAIL
how-toVZCZCXRO8182 PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV DE RUEHAS #0221 0621637 ZNR UUUUU ZZH P 031637Z MAR 09 FM AMEMBASSY ALGIERS TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7137 INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUEHNK/AMEMBASSY NOUAKCHOTT PRIORITY 6684 RUEHBP/AMEMBASSY BAMAKO PRIORITY 0891 RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 3062 RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID PRIORITY 9199
UNCLAS ALGIERS 000221
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KPAO AG
SUBJECT: DEFAMATION CHARGE LANDS NEWSPAPER DIRECTOR IN JAIL
REF: 08 ALGIERS 1319
UNCLAS ALGIERS 000221
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KPAO AG
SUBJECT: DEFAMATION CHARGE LANDS NEWSPAPER DIRECTOR IN JAIL
REF: 08 ALGIERS 1319
1. (U) The 2005 defamation case of Ouargla-based El Waha
newspaper took a sudden turn on March 2 when El Waha director
Hadj Daoud Hadjar was arrested and sentenced to six months in
prison. From his cell in Chaabet Ennichene prison in
Ghardaia, Hadjar will now wait for the local court to make
his six-month sentence official. The original suit against
Hadjar was filed in November 2005 by a female employee of the
Ghardaia town hall, whom Hadjar had accused of corruption.
Hadjar then appealed the case all the way to the Supreme
Court, which rejected his appeal on July 3, 2008, sending it
back to the local level for sentencing.
2. (SBU) Defamation charges are nothing new for Hadjar.
Although El Waha ceased publication in December 2006 as a
print journal, it still exists online, and Hadjar has also
come under fire for other provocative publications. He has
faced prosecution in more than ten out of 25 court cases in
which he was charged with defamation for revealing corruption
and other power-abuse scandals. In 2005, he published a
two-volume book entitled "Prison, Murder... From the Noble
Profession to Extinction," in which he railed against the
conditions in Algeria's prisons and criminal justice system.
3. (SBU) Journalist Chahinaz, of French-language daily
l'Expression, complained to us on March 3 that the El Waha
case is the latest example of an environment in which
journalists are no longer allowed to disseminate information
freely. She referred to recent cases against French-language
daily El Watan director Omar Belhouchet and journalists
Chawki Amari and Salima Tlemcani. Kamel Amarni, Secretary
General of the National Syndicate of Journalists, told us on
February 24 that journalists in Algeria today face "constant
harassment" and are forced to devote a disproportionate
amount of time and energy to preventing or responding to
defamation charges (reftel).
4. (SBU) COMMENT: What makes the sudden turn of events in
Hadjar's case unusual is the speed at which his arrest and
sentencing took place yesterday, despite the fact that the
case dates back to 2005. Generally, the Algerian bureaucracy
is not able to process both an arrest and provisional
sentencing on the same day. Throughout the 25 defamation
cases that have been brought against him, Hadjar has built a
reputation as a muckracker unafraid to speak out on
corruption, which is arguably the most sensitive issue for
central and local Algerian government officials.
PEARCE
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KPAO AG
SUBJECT: DEFAMATION CHARGE LANDS NEWSPAPER DIRECTOR IN JAIL
REF: 08 ALGIERS 1319
1. (U) The 2005 defamation case of Ouargla-based El Waha
newspaper took a sudden turn on March 2 when El Waha director
Hadj Daoud Hadjar was arrested and sentenced to six months in
prison. From his cell in Chaabet Ennichene prison in
Ghardaia, Hadjar will now wait for the local court to make
his six-month sentence official. The original suit against
Hadjar was filed in November 2005 by a female employee of the
Ghardaia town hall, whom Hadjar had accused of corruption.
Hadjar then appealed the case all the way to the Supreme
Court, which rejected his appeal on July 3, 2008, sending it
back to the local level for sentencing.
2. (SBU) Defamation charges are nothing new for Hadjar.
Although El Waha ceased publication in December 2006 as a
print journal, it still exists online, and Hadjar has also
come under fire for other provocative publications. He has
faced prosecution in more than ten out of 25 court cases in
which he was charged with defamation for revealing corruption
and other power-abuse scandals. In 2005, he published a
two-volume book entitled "Prison, Murder... From the Noble
Profession to Extinction," in which he railed against the
conditions in Algeria's prisons and criminal justice system.
3. (SBU) Journalist Chahinaz, of French-language daily
l'Expression, complained to us on March 3 that the El Waha
case is the latest example of an environment in which
journalists are no longer allowed to disseminate information
freely. She referred to recent cases against French-language
daily El Watan director Omar Belhouchet and journalists
Chawki Amari and Salima Tlemcani. Kamel Amarni, Secretary
General of the National Syndicate of Journalists, told us on
February 24 that journalists in Algeria today face "constant
harassment" and are forced to devote a disproportionate
amount of time and energy to preventing or responding to
defamation charges (reftel).
4. (SBU) COMMENT: What makes the sudden turn of events in
Hadjar's case unusual is the speed at which his arrest and
sentencing took place yesterday, despite the fact that the
case dates back to 2005. Generally, the Algerian bureaucracy
is not able to process both an arrest and provisional
sentencing on the same day. Throughout the 25 defamation
cases that have been brought against him, Hadjar has built a
reputation as a muckracker unafraid to speak out on
corruption, which is arguably the most sensitive issue for
central and local Algerian government officials.
PEARCE