Algeria jails media group owner for insulting army

An Algerian man reads a local newspaper, En-Nahar, bearing a picture for the first time of former Algerian intelligence chief General Mohamed Mediene, better known as General Toufik, on the front cover in the capital, Algiers, on September 13, 2010 [FAROUK BATICHE/AFP via Getty Images]

An Algerian court on Sunday sentenced the owner of Ennahar Media Group Anis Rahmani to five years in prison on several charges of insulting the army after recording and broadcasting a phone call with an intelligence officer, reported Ennahar website.

During last week’s trial, the prosecutor at the Bir Mourad Rais court in Algiers asked for Rahmani to be handed a ten-year prison term and a fine of 100,000 Algerian dinars ($777) for “insulting a commander in the performance of his duties, slandering the army, insulting a statutory body and violating the privacy of individuals, for recording and transmitting phone calls without the authorisation of its owner.”

Rahmani was accused of recording and broadcasting a telephone conversation with a senior intelligence officer, resulting in a range of charges including “defamation of the army” and recording communications without consent.

He is the latest figure to be jailed who had close ties with former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

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