May 12. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Algerian Parliament has criticized the European Parliament for its resolution critical of the situation of press freedom in the country, which is based on “unfounded and erroneous” accusations, according to Algiers, who also speaks of “shameless interference” in its affairs internal.
“We have learned, with deep indignation, of the European Parliament’s resolution on freedom of expression and of the press in Algeria,” said the Algerian Parliament, which has indicated that the document contains elements “far from the truth about the situation in Algeria , where the media scene is dynamic, open and free”.
Thus, it has condemned said resolution “in the strongest terms” and has stressed that Algeria “is absolutely determined to start a real takeoff through the construction of its sovereign constitutional institutions”, according to the Algerian state news agency, APS. .
“Sovereign in its decisions and positions, Algeria believes in the principle of equality in its relations with the countries of the world, including the European Union, and in no way tolerates the policy of double standards,” he noted, while criticizing that the European Parliament “has ignored the direct channel of communication between the two instances”.
In this sense, he has shown his “surprise” at “the practices of a parliamentary institution whose credibility is tarnished by corruption and bribery scandals, which turns a blind eye to the suffering of the bruised, oppressed and attacked Palestinian people, and which gives back to the occupied Sahrawi people, whose wealth is being plundered simply for demanding their right to recover their territories and their freedom”.
For this reason, he has emphasized that the European Parliament “is controlled by well-known circles that try to cover up and distort the facts” and has lamented that the body “diverts attention from just causes and the right of peoples to freedom and recovery of their usurped territories”.
The European Parliament resolution that was approved on Thursday with 536 votes in favour, four against and 18 abstentions, calls on the Algerian authorities for the “immediate” release of those detained “arbitrarily” and accused of “exercising their right to freedom of expression”, including Ihsane el Kadi, sentenced to five years in prison for allegedly “collecting funds without authorization” and “receiving funds from abroad to commit acts against state security”.
Along these lines, they demanded from Algiers amendments to the charges related to security in the Penal Code used to “criminalize” freedom of expression and regretted a “worsening” of the situation since the ‘Hirak’ demonstrations in 2019 to demand the resignation of the then president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
Algeria is ranked 136 out of 180 in the 2022 World Press Freedom Index published last week by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which stressed that the Algerian authorities “persist in their authoritarian drift with the persecution” against El Kadi. Thus, the country fell two places compared to the previous year and remains in the category of countries where the situation of the press is considered “difficult.”
