On Tuesday, July 1, the Algiers Court of Appeal will deliver its ruling regarding the French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who has been detained since November 2024. But two days before that critical moment, Algerian authorities handed down a harsh sentence against another French national. In a case that had largely escaped media attention, Christophe Gleizes, a 36-year-old freelance sports journalist, was sentenced on June 29 by a court in Tizi Ouzou, Kabylia, to seven years of jail time with a warrant for immediate imprisonment for “glorifying terrorism” and “possessing publications for propaganda purposes harmful to national interests,” Reporters Without Borders (RSF) revealed the same day in a statement.
An appeal is expected to be filed on July 2, according to Salah Brahimi, head of the Tizi Ouzou bar association, who is representing the journalist. The defense counsel has 10 days to initiate the process. Contacted by Le Monde, the French Foreign Ministry said on Monday morning that it was “not in a position” to comment on court rulings. It did, however, issue a press release midday, saying it “deeply regrets” the conviction and that “all services remain mobilized to assist him.”
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