Algeria court postpones retrial of journalist Khaled Drareni

An Algerian court on Thursday postponed the retrial of prominent journalist Khaled Drareni, charged with "inciting an unarmed gathering" and "endangering national unity", AFP reporters at the court said.

Drareni was detained in March 2020 and sentenced to two years in jail last September for covering a demonstration.

He was provisionally released in February under a presidential pardon for detainees of the Hirak pro-democracy protest movement that forced longtime president Abdelaziz Bouteflika's resignation in 2019.

The supreme court in March upheld an appeal by Drareni, a reporter for French-language news channel TV5 Monde and for rights group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) as well as founder of news site Casbah Tribune.

His retrial, initially set for Thursday, is now due to start on 2 December.

Several Algerian journalists are currently in detention, including Mohamed Mouloudj of Francophone daily Liberte, charged with belonging to a "terrorist" organisation and "spreading false information".

Another Algerian journalist, Hassan Bouras, was arrested earlier this month and has been accused of "glorifying terrorism" among other crimes, his lawyers said.

Another, Rabah Kareche, was sentenced in August to eight months behind bars for "deliberate dissemination of false information likely to undermine public order".

Algeria is ranked 146th out of 180 countries and territories on the RSF World Press Freedom Index.

The group on Wednesday warned of an "increase in attacks on the media and oppressive behaviour by the Algerian authorities during the past few months".

"We urge the Algerian authorities to put a stop to the violations that could have a lasting impact on journalists' right to report the news and on the right of Algerian citizens to be properly informed," said Souhaieb Khayati, the head of RSF's North Africa bureau.