Bejaia Criminal Court overturns a seven-year prison sentence against Marzouk Touati

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika (C) speaks beside Algerian Justice minister Tayeb Belaiz (3R) at the supreme court in Algiers. Algeria [FAROUK BATICHE/AFP/Getty Images]

The Supreme Court has overturned the sentence imposed on blogger Marzouk Touati by the Criminal Court in Bejaia last June. The blogger faced charges of engaging with Israel. He was sent to trial again before in front of another lunch.

The blogger had been sentenced to 7 years in prison but won an appeal at the Supreme Court against the previous verdict on 21 June last year.

The decision was welcomed by the Algerian League for the Defence of Human Rights, which demanded release and a fair trial for Touati, who has been in jail for two years.

The case of blogger Marzouk Touati dates back to January 2017, when the town of Bejaia witnessed massive protests, denouncing the Finance Act. The blogger then posted a video commenting on the Minister of Housing’s statement, followed by another video, which showed an interview with the spokesman of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, in charge of Arab media.

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