An Algerian court on Thursday reduced the prison sentences of a Canadian dual national researcher and a journalist from two years to 20 months, according to one of their lawyers.
Raouf Farrah, a 36-year-old Algerian-Canadian researcher, and Mustapha Bendjama, a 32-year-old Algerian journalist, had initially been sentenced to two years in prison in August after a court in the eastern city of Constantine found them guilty of publishing classified information.
The initial sentence was appealed, leading to a reduction in their jail terms to 20 months, with eight months to be served in prison and a 12-month suspended sentence, as reported by Raouf Farrah’s lawyer, Kouceila Zerguine, to AFP.
According to Zerguine, Farrah “will be released immediately” as he has already served a portion of his sentence.
The lawyer stated that a decision regarding Bendjama’s release will be determined on October 31, as he is currently facing another ongoing legal case.
The journalist has been embroiled in multiple legal cases since his involvement in the pro-democracy Hirak movement back in 2019.
On February 8, he was arrested at his workplace and charged with aiding French-Algerian political activist Amira Bouraoui’s travel from Algeria to Tunisia two days prior, even though she had been prohibited from leaving the country.
The Bouraoui case, which the Algerian government referred to as an “illegal exfiltration,” caused a resurgence of diplomatic tensions with France, but those tensions have subsequently been resolved.
Raouf Farrah, a research analyst affiliated with the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC), was detained on February 14 at his parents’ residence in Annaba, an eastern port city.
He was also convicted of accepting funds with the intent of engaging in actions that could disrupt public order.
His defense team will pursue a complete acquittal and the dismissal of all charges against him through the Supreme Court.
Algeria currently detains numerous journalists and activists, and the country is ranked 136th out of 180 countries and territories in the World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders.