Algeria
Moroccan journalist arrestedPosted May 4 2009
Moroccan journalists Hicham El Madraoui and Mahfoud Aït Bensaleh were arrested April 9 in Algeria while covering the presidential election. The two journalists were in Algiers to cover the election for the Moroccan weekly Assahrae Al Ousbouiya, reported the International Freedom of Expression Exchange and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
Reporters Without Borders has since condemned the arrest, stating on its Web site, “their arrest does not bode well for President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's third term. The international media have been prevented from covering this election properly. We hope the media will be allowed to cover Bouteflika's next administration in a better manner.”
Prior to the election, Madraoui and Bensaleh were told by the Algerian embassy in Morocco that they would receive press accreditation in Algiers, reported IFEX and RSF.
The two journalists were initially turned away from the press center in Algeria.
They returned the following day and were again turned away, and then arrested and interrogated for more than four hours, according to IFEX and RSF. They were released after the Moroccan embassy intervened. Madraoui and Bensaleh returned to their hotel room that night to find it had been ransacked, according to IFEX and RSF. The same night, they were followed by plain-clothes policemen, reported IFEX and RSF.
The Moroccan embassy again intervened when Madraoui and Bensaleh were questioned the following day before they reached the airport, reported IFEX and RSF.
More information
-International Freedom of Expression Exchange