An Algerian court on Wednesday handed opposition figure Karim Tabbou a six-month suspended sentence and a fine for charges including incitement and defamation, a rights group said.
Tabbou, 49, rose to prominence as one of the most recognisable faces of mass pro-democracy rallies in Algeria that began in February 2019.
The protests, led by the Hirak movement, demanded a sweeping overhaul of the ruling system in place since the North African country gained independence from France in 1962.
A court in the capital Algiers sentenced Tabbou to a “six-month suspended prison sentence and a fine of 50,000 dinars ($372),” the National Committee for the Release of Detainees (CNLD) said in a statement.
It said he had been convicted of “incitement to unarmed assembly”, insulting a civil servant and defamation.
The CNLD said Tabbou was acquitted of several other charges including “disrespecting the dead”, “undermining the integrity of national territory” and “providing the public with recordings and photos without authorisation”.
The prosecution had requested a year in prison and a fine of 100,000 dinars, according to the rights group.
Tabbou was sentenced in March 2020 to one year in jail for “undermining national security” over his criticism of the army’s involvement in politics.
After his release from prison, he was detained again in April 2022 for 24 hours for unknown reasons.
The Hirak protests had forced longtime president Abdelaziz Bouteflika to step down. Demonstrations continued in a push for deep reforms but the movement waned when the coronavirus pandemic struck.
Dozens are still detained in Algeria over links to Hirak or human rights activism, according to rights groups.