A French journalist who specialises in African football has been sentenced to seven years in prison in Algeria on charges of “glorifying terrorism,” according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which has strongly condemned the ruling as “nonsensical.”
Christophe Gleizes, 36, a contributor to So Foot magazine, was convicted by a court in the city of Tizi Ouzou and immediately taken into custody.
RSF said he plans to appeal the decision, though the case is not expected to be heard before October.
“This is an outrageous miscarriage of justice. He has been convicted and jailed simply for doing his job as a journalist,” RSF said in a statement.
Legal sources told AFP that Gleizes was transferred directly to Tizi Ouzou prison following the court’s decision. He had been under judicial supervision since his arrest in May 2024, which included a travel ban.
“This seven-year sentence is both absurd and politically motivated,” added RSF director general Thibaut Bruttin. “It reflects the dangerous environment in which journalists are currently working.”
Gleizes had travelled to Algeria to report on Jeunesse Sportive de Kabylie (JSK), a football club based in the Kabylia region, home to Algeria’s Berber-speaking Kabyle community.
His family expressed disbelief over the conviction. “We are devastated. Christophe is being punished for carrying out his work with integrity,” they said in a statement released by RSF.
In addition to “glorifying terrorism,” Gleizes was also found guilty of “possessing materials intended to promote propaganda damaging to national interests,” according to RSF.
The charges partly stem from his previous communications in 2015 and 2017 with a football figure in Tizi Ouzou known to be affiliated with the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie (MAK), which Algeria classified as a terrorist group in 2021.
RSF pointed out that these early contacts took place years before MAK’s designation and that Gleizes had disclosed a more recent interview with the individual in 2024, conducted in preparation for his reporting.
So Foot expressed outrage over the case, declaring, “He is imprisoned for doing his job! His colleagues and loved ones are in shock.”
The case comes during heightened diplomatic tensions between Algeria and France, its former colonial ruler.
In a separate incident, French-Algerian author Boualem Sansal was also jailed in Algeria on national security charges, despite French President Emmanuel Macron’s calls for his release.
Relations further soured after Macron expressed support for Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara—a region where Algeria backs the independence-seeking Polisario Front.
