Amnesty International reported yesterday that a court in Algeria on April 1 sentenced a journalist Said Djabelkheir, a specialist on Sufism, to three years in prison and a fine of 50,000 dinars ($375 US) for Facebook posts he authored:
In three online posts on Facebook in January 2020, Said Djabelkheir drew comparisons between Eid al-Adha and the Berber New Year celebrations; referred to some stories in the Qur’an as ‘myths; and said he considered some hadiths ‘apocryphal’. The Sidi Mhamed Court of First Instance today convicted him of “offending the Prophet of Islam” and “denigrating the dogma or precepts of Islam” under Article 144bis[2] of Algeria’s Penal Code.
No order to take Djabelkheir into custody has yet been issued. Djabelkheir’s lawyer plan to appeal his conviction.