Algerian journalist handed 3 year jail term: lawyer

Algiers          -       :Algerian journalist Khaled Drareni received a three-year prison term Monday, a lawyer said, in a trial rights groups have called a test of press freedom in a country recently rocked by anti-government protests. “It’s a very heavy verdict for Khaled Drareni. We are surprised,” lawyer and president of the Algerian League for Human Rights Nouredine Benissad told AFP. Drareni, 40, editor of the Casbah Tribune news site and correspondent for French-language channel TV5 Monde, was arrested on March 29 on charges of “inciting an unarmed gathering” and “endangering national unity” after covering demonstrations by the “Hirak” protest movement.

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