The Algerian authorities must respect, protect, promote and fulfil media freedoms, Amnesty International said today, following increased restrictions on independent journalists and media outlets in recent months.
On 28 June 2016, Algeria’s Minister of Communication, Hamid Grine, warned Algerian private channels that they needed to strictly comply with the restrictive Law on Audiovisual Activity of February 2014. His statement follows the recent appointment by presidential decree of members of the Audiovisual Regulation Authority, who will notably be tasked with granting licences to privately-owned television and radio stations. Earlier this year, Hamid Grine declared that the Algerian state had “red lines that should not be crossed”.