Overview
- The criminal appeals court in Tizi-Ouzou will hear the case on December 3, according to lawyer Amirouche Bakouri.
- Christophe Gleizes, a 36-year-old contributor to So Foot and Society, was sentenced on June 29 to seven years in prison for apology of terrorism and possession of propaganda publications.
- Algerian authorities base the charges on his reported contact with a Jeunesse Sportive de Kabylie official who is also identified as a leader of the MAK, designated a terrorist group since May 2021.
- He remains in detention pending the appeal, and his parents said after August prison visits that he stayed upbeat but felt cut off from the world.
- The proceedings unfold during a prolonged diplomatic rift that has included reciprocal diplomat expulsions, the conviction of writer Boualem Sansal, and tensions linked to France’s stance on Western Sahara.