Algerians sentenced for insulting president

ALGIERS: An Algerian court on Wednesday sentenced three opposition militants to six months in prison for insulting the president and spreading false news, a prisoners’ rights group said. Yasser Kadiri, Said Zegar and Khelil Kheyi, all members of the Hirak protest movement, were convicted by a court in Timimoun in the southern region of Adrar, the CNLD said.

The Hirak protest movement hit Algeria’s streets in February 2019 to oppose ailing president Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s bid for a fifth term in office, forcing him into resignation two months later. But it kept up protests against the establishment into early 2020, before coronavirus restrictions forced it from the streets.