French sportswriter sentenced to 7 years for 'glorifying terrorism' in Algeria
Christophe Gleizes, a 36-year-old freelance sportswriter, was arrested and placed under judicial supervision more than a year ago for entering Algeria without a proper visa, 'glorifying terrorism,' and 'possessing propaganda publications harmful to the national interest,' Reporters Without Borders said in a statement on Sunday.
He was tried and convicted, although prosecutors have not publicly announced the charges and Algerian officials have not commented on the case.
However, authorities have in the past faced criticism from rights advocates who say Algeria uses anti-terrorism laws to target political speech.
Thibaut Bruttin, Reporters Without Borders director general, called authorities' decision to hold Gleizes for 13 months before sentencing an example of 'absurd judicial control' and called the seven-year sentence 'nonsensical.' The press freedom group said Gleizes planned to appeal the sentences on Monday.
The charges against Gleizes, the group said, stemmed from contact he had with the head of a soccer club who was also a member of a political movement that Algeria designated as a terrorist group four years ago.
Gleizes, had contributed to the magazines So Foot and Society, had gone to Algeria last year to report on JS Kabylie, Algeria's most historically dominant soccer team.
JS Kabylie and its successes are deeply enmeshed in the movement to win cultural recognition for Algeria's Amazigh minority in the mountainous Kabylia region. The region has for decades been an epicenter of rebellion in Algeria. Authorities have in recent years clamped down on the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylia, a separatist group whose leader has been sentenced to death in absentia for 'attacking national unity.'
The French journalist's sentence comes as relations between France and Algeria reach new levels of hostility. The two countries are sparring over migration, extradition, trade and France's change in position over the status of the disputed Western Sahara.
France's Foreign Affairs Ministry called Gleizes' sentence harsh, saying it planned to provide consular support and had applied to visit him in prison.
While the case was received with shock in France's media, few in Algeria were aware of Gleizes' detention before the sentence was announced.
'This is a murky affair,' said Karim Adli, a sports journalist based in the city of Tizi Ouzou.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump admin expands efforts to strip naturalized Americans of citizenship
[Source] The Justice Department has issued new guidelines directing attorneys to aggressively pursue stripping citizenship from naturalized Americans who concealed crimes or posed national security threats during their naturalization process, a policy that could affect the nearly 25 million people. What you need to know: A June 11 memo from Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate establishes multiple priority categories for citizenship revocation and instructs the Civil Division to 'prioritize and maximally pursue denaturalization proceedings in all cases permitted by law and supported by the evidence.' The policy focuses on individuals who 'pose a potential danger to national security, including those with a nexus to terrorism' and those who 'committed felonies that were not disclosed during the naturalization process.' The memo permits attorneys to target those facing 'pending criminal charges' that have not yet secured a conviction. Shumate outlined that the benefits include 'the government's ability to revoke the citizenship of individuals who engaged in the commission of war crimes, extrajudicial killings or other serious human rights abuses.' Pros and cons: Hans von Spakovsky of conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation defended the initiative, telling NPR, 'I do not understand how anyone could possibly be opposed to the Justice Department taking such action to protect the nation from obvious predators, criminals and terrorists.' Others, however, have expressed alarm over constitutional issues. Law professor and former U.S. attorney Joyce Vance cautioned that 'the provision is so vague that it would permit the Division to denaturalize for just about anything,' potentially targeting 'troublesome journalists who are naturalized citizens' or 'students.' The administration's approach has drawn political attention, with President Donald Trump recently saying he will 'take a look' at potentially deporting Elon Musk — who has been critical of his recent 'One Big Beautiful Bill' — remarking that 'we might have to put DOGE on Elon.' Broader implications: The policy marks a substantial escalation from earlier initiatives, including Operation Janus launched under the Obama administration, which identified hundreds of immigrants who had been ordered deported but became U.S. citizens under another identity. The administration has already succeeded in one case against Elliott Duke, a British-born Army veteran convicted of distributing child sexual abuse material, who now lacks citizenship in any country. Trending on NextShark: This story is part of The Rebel Yellow Newsletter — a bold weekly newsletter from the creators of NextShark, reclaiming our stories and celebrating Asian American voices. Subscribe free to join the movement. If you love what we're building, consider becoming a paid member — your support helps us grow our team, investigate impactful stories, and uplift our community. Trending on NextShark: Subscribe here now! Download the NextShark App: Want to keep up to date on Asian American News? Download the NextShark App today!
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Man faces court over 'cowardly' attack on synagogue
The identity of a man accused of firebombing a synagogue has been revealed, as a series of alleged anti-Semitic attacks at several other locations draws international attention. Angelo Loras, 34, from Toongabbie in NSW, was arrested in Melbourne's CBD on Saturday night, about 24 hours after the front doors of the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation were allegedly set alight, forcing 20 people to flee. He has been charged multiple offences including reckless conduct endangering life, criminal damage by fire and possession of a controlled weapon. The 34-year-old appeared in Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Sunday, where the court was told it was his first time in custody. He was remanded until a hearing on July 22. Detectives will investigate the accused man's intent and ideology to determine if the incident was an act of terrorism. Police are also investigating another alleged act of anti-Semitism on the same night, when protesters who splintered from a larger demonstration allegedly smashed a window, flipped tables, threw chairs and chanted "death to the IDF" outside Israeli restaurant Miznon. Hours later, offenders spray-painted three cars and a wall outside a Greensborough business in Melbourne's northeast before setting fire to the vehicles, destroying one and damaging two. Police have revealed they are investigating a fourth incident where offenders used stencils to spray paint offensive images on pillars at a busy intersection and a number of walls in Elsternwick. It came as hundreds gathered for a pro-Palestine rally in Melbourne on Sunday. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned "reprehensible anti-Semitic attacks" on both the Melbourne synagogue and restaurant. He urged the federal government to "take all action" against those responsible. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:"I view with utmost gravity the antisemitic attacks that occurred last night in Melbourne, which included attempted arson of a synagogue in the city and a violent assault against an Israeli restaurant by pro-Palestinian rioters. — Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) July 5, 2025 None of the incidents have been declared terrorism-related but the force is increasing patrols around the synagogue and in the city's southeast. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, former attorney-general Mark Dreyfus and Melbourne MP Sarah Witty met with the synagogue's Rabbi Dovid Gutnick, president Danny Segal and his wife on Sunday morning. Mr Burke and Mr Dreyfus described the firebombing as an "attack on Australia" and the entire community. Mr Burke stopped short of declaring the alleged arson attack an act of terrorism, saying it would be up to Victoria Police to decide. He refused to be drawn on Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's demand the Australian government "take all action to deal with the rioters to the fullest extent of the law". Mr Burke said he spoke with the Israeli Ambassador to Australia Amir Maimon on Saturday night as news filtered through of plans for him to fly from Sydney for the Sunday's meeting. The ambassador took it as a signal of the government taking Friday's attacks very seriously, Mr Burke said. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the synagogue arson as a "cowardly" act of violence and anti-Semitism and said the attacks on the restaurant and business were unacceptable. The federal government has offered federal police and security and intelligence agency support to investigators. "Those responsible for these shocking acts must face the full force of the law," he said. Victorian opposition police spokesman and Jewish MP David Southwick criticised Premier Jacinta Allan, who condemned the attacks in a statement, for not fronting the media over the weekend. "Where is the premier," he asked. "The Jewish community feel like there is a war zone here in Melbourne." Ms Allan is expected to visit the synagogue on Monday. The attacks come seven months after a blaze destroyed two buildings at the Adass Israel Synagogue in the city's south and forced worshippers inside to flee.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Sandy Gall: Journalist who took on war zones around the world
The craggy looks of Sandy Gall, who has died aged 97, were familiar to television viewers as both a foreign correspondent in the world's war zones and a newscaster – one of the 'faces' of ITV's News at Ten – who brought calm authority to the stories he presented. His twice-broken nose was the result of a minicab crash, but it gave the 6ft 1in, lean journalist an appearance of having taken part in some of the battles he reported. Gall joined ITN, the commercial channel's news provider, in 1963 after 10 years at the news agency Reuters, where he had covered events during a turbulent period in history, from the Mau Mau rebellion and the Suez crisis to post-revolution Hungary and the Congo wars. For television, he reported from Vietnam in 1965, when the United States sent in the Marines. He returned to the country several times – covering the Tet Offensive in 1968 – and courageously decided to stay on in Saigon in 1975 to witness the North Vietnamese Army's liberation and the aftermath. Three years earlier, Gall had been imprisoned in Uganda after being sent to cover the dictator Idi Amin's expulsion from the country of all Asians holding British passports. He was thrown into hut C19, the execution cell at the military police barracks in Makindye. There were bullet holes in the walls, with blood splattered on the ceiling, and Gall thought he heard the sound of a man being beaten to death with a shovel. 'I felt sick with fear and suddenly cold,' he recalled. 'I began to pray.' Fortunately, after a short time, he was moved to the 'VIP cell' and, three days later, deported. Gall had a longer association with Afghanistan, which began with his reporting from the rebel mujahideen side three years after the Soviet invasion for his ITV documentary Afghanistan: Behind Russian Lines (1982). He subsequently made Allah Against the Gunships (1984), when his team received protection from Pakistani dictator General Zia-ul-Haq's Special Forces, and Agony of a Nation (1986). In Don't Worry About the Money Now, Gall's first book of memoirs, published in 1983, he wrote: 'A journalist, as an observer, has to be an outsider looking in and, once he loses that sort of independence, once he becomes, even slightly, part of the Establishment, he is in danger of losing his credibility.' That principle appeared to be compromised when, a year later, he was invited to lunch with the head of MI6 and shared his first-hand knowledge of Afghanistan. Gall aired his view that the mujahideen had no weapon with which to counter the Soviets' Mi-24 helicopter gunships. Shortly afterward, the Americans asked the British to supply the rebels with a ground-to-air missile, which marked a turning point in the war. In 1989, the Soviet Union withdrew its final forces from Afghanistan, an event covered by Gall for ITN. Another legacy of his reporting from the country was Sandy Gall's Afghanistan Appeal, the charity he set up in 1983 to provide artificial limbs, other aids and physiotherapy to those suffering disabilities as a result of the war. He continued to visit Afghanistan throughout its subsequent turbulent history and made the documentaries Veil of Fear (1996, for World in Action), Sandy's War: Face of the Taliban (2001, for Tonight) and Afghanistan: War without End (2004). He also authored several books: Behind Russian Lines: An Afghan Journal (1983), Afghanistan: Agony of a Nation (1988), War Against the Taliban: Why It All Went Wrong in Afghanistan (2013) and Afghan Napoleon: The Life of Ahmad Shah Massoud (2021). Henderson Alexander Gall was born in Penang, Malaysia, in 1927 to Jean (née Begg) and Henderson Gall, a Scottish rubber planter. He was educated at Glenalmond College in Perthshire and served in the RAF from 1945 to 1948). He graduated from Aberdeen University in 1952 with an MA in French and German, and began his career at the Aberdeen Press and Journal. The following year, he joined Reuters and, after several months in its London office, served as a correspondent in Cold War Berlin, Nairobi, Suez, Bonn, Budapest and Johannesburg. While based in South Africa, he covered the Congo. In 1960, he was the first to report the rape of Belgian women, including nuns, by Congolese who saw no immediate change in the weeks after receiving independence from Belgium. Gall admitted to being nervous in front of the camera on joining ITN in 1963, but he was soon bringing his experience – and impressive contacts book – to reporting from trouble spots, including the Congo again, Borneo, the Six-Day War and Biafra. He became a newscaster in 1968 and first presented News at Ten two years later, although he continued to report from around the world. He also made documentaries for ITV, including Lord of the Lions (1989), about conservationist George Adamson. Gall retired from ITN as a newscaster in January 1990 but continued as a reporter to cover the first Gulf War (1990-91) and the fall of the Soviet-backed Najibullah regime in Afghanistan (1992), then made occasional television documentaries. In 2003, he became world affairs editor of the London news station LBC, joining its breakfast show to comment on global issues. His second volume of memoirs, News from the Front: A Television Reporter's Life, was published in 1994. As a novelist, he wrote the thrillers Gold Scoop (1977), Chasing the Dragon (1981) and Salang (1990). Gall was appointed CBE in 1988 and, for services to the people of Afghanistan, Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 2011. He won the Lawrence of Arabia Memorial Medal in 1987 for his Afghanistan reports and was rector of the University of Aberdeen from 1978 to 1981. In 1958, Gall married Eleanor Smyth; she died in 2018. He is survived by his son, Alexander, and three daughters, Fiona, Carlotta and Michaela. Sandy Gall, journalist, born 1 October 1927, died 29 June 2025
