Algerian authorities sentenced a man to three years in prison on Monday for his satirical social media posts mocking Algeria’s government and state religion, Islam, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported on Monday.
Authorities accused Walid Kechida, 25, of insulting Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and “offending the precepts” of Islam with internet memes and other online posts, according to Kaci Tansaout, a member of Algeria’s National Committee for the Liberation of Detainees (CNLD), a prisoners’ rights group.
“Walid Kechida is sadly sentenced to three years in prison with a fine,” Tansaout said.
“The public prosecutor in Algeria’s northeastern Setif province had called for a five-year sentence, and Kechida has already spent eight months in detention awaiting trial,” according to AFP.
Kechida is a supporter of Algeria’s anti-government protest movement, known as the Hirak. Algerian authorities have arrested and prosecuted several Hirak supporters in recent months as part of an overall effort to quell the protest
