The Washington Center for Human Rights (WCHR) firmly condemns the Algerian government’s expanding crackdown on peaceful opposition and online activism ahead of the sixth anniversary of the Hirak movement. A frightening new trend of arbitrary detentions and prosecutions has resulted in scores of activists and journalists being jailed for nothing other than peacefully articulating political opinions, particularly for supporting the latest “Manich Radi” (“I am not satisfied”) protest movement.
Online protest and repression ahead of Hirak anniversary
From December 2024 to April 2025, Algerian officials detained and convicted a minimum of 23 people for their activism in support of the “Manich Radi” movement—initiated in December 2024 as a peaceful protest condemning extreme socio-economic conditions and state oppression. Most of those detained are currently in jail or in pre-trial detention on vaguely worded national security charges that criminalise dissent.
Research conducted by Amnesty International revealed that trials were often hurried, leaving defendants without sufficient time to prepare a defence. Convictions, in most cases, were based on social media usage or peaceful political activism.
Abuse of justice: Prison sentences for online activism
In another case, Bejaia Court convicted activists Soheib Debbaghi and Mahdi Bazizi to 18 months in prison for their involvement in launching “Manich Radi.” Likewise, prominent poet Mohamed Tadjadit was sentenced to five years on the basis of political poems and hashtags posted online. Other activists like Belaid Charfi, Fadhila Hammas, “Abla” Derama Kemari, and Massinissa Lakhal have been targeted for denouncing Algeria‘s economic hardship, denouncing state repression, or showing regional solidarity, particularly with the Kabyle minority.
Even journalists are not immune: Abdelwaheb Moualek was tried without counsel, and Mustapha Bendjama was handed travel and publication bans following interrogations about his Facebook messages. These examples reveal a frightening vision of how the Algerian regime now regularly deploys the law to stifle online opposition and criminalise peaceful dissent.
What Algerian authorities must do
WCHR urges the Algerian government to immediately and unconditionally release all persons arrested for exercising their freedom of expression and association rights peacefully.
- Put an end to the abuse of vaguely defined national security laws to persecute critics.
- Ensure fair trial rights and put an end to the use of speedy trials to stifle dissent.
- Ensure accountability by investigating and prosecuting human rights abuses openly and according to international standards.
- Respect global human rights obligations of freedom of expression, particularly online.
Algerian officials need to realise that jailing individuals for hashtags and poems will not quash the call for dignity, justice, and reform. The world needs to be with Algerians exercising their rights—not with the regime that is labouring to crush them.