“State Kidnapping”: journalist Mourad Aït Mimou behind bars for filming kabyle anger

Kabyle journalist and blogger Mourad Aït Mimou was placed under a committal order this week by the investigating judge of the Azazga tribunal, in the Tizi Ouzou province. He is prosecuted for “apologizing for terrorism,” “undermining state symbols,” and “disseminating hate speech”—a heavy array of charges for a man whose only “crime” appears to have been informing the public and giving citizens a voice.

An arrest bearing the hallmarks of an abduction

The events date back to Tuesday, July 7. Mourad Ait Mimoun was at the Kessi cafeteria, opposite the Hasnaoua university campus in Tizi Ouzou, when plainclothes agents intercepted him. According to accounts gathered by several organizations, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the NGO Riposte Internationale, he was forced into an unmarked vehicle and driven to the Azazga police station, about thirty kilometers east of Tizi Ouzou.

With no summons, warrant, or official statement issued, his family, friends, and colleagues were unable to obtain any information in the hours that followed regarding his place of detention or the reasons for his arrest. Riposte Internationale denounced what it termed an “abduction,” arguing that this modus operandi “is no longer an arrest” but amounts to a “state kidnapping.” Furthermore, his phones were confiscated and handed over to the central directorate for the fight against cybercrime.

Two intersecting cases

Available information points to two triggering factors, which are not mutually exclusive.

On one hand, several sources mention posts made by Mourad Ait Mimoun on his Facebook account—followed by more than 75,000 subscribers—criticizing the legislative elections of July 2, which were marked by a historically high abstention rate.

On the other hand, the journalist had broadcast footage filmed on June 25 during a gathering at Lounès Matoub’s graveside, where participants chanted slogans hostile to the authorities, such as “Assassins in Power.” For his loved ones, this broadcasting more directly explains the prosecution for “apologizing for terrorism”—a qualification made possible by the broadening of Article 87 bis of the penal code, amended in 2021 amid the pandemic and without genuine public debate.

In both cases, the conclusion remains the same: reporting public events and showcasing popular expression is treated as a crime.

A career marked by independence

Originally from the Ath Jennad region, Mourad Ait Mimoun began working at the local radio station in Tizi Ouzou in 2011 before joining Dzaïr TV, a channel owned by Ali Haddad, where he hosted the Kabyle-language show “Tizi n Wassa.” He stood out for his boldness, inviting MAK activists onto his set alongside committed singers rarely seen on Algerian channels, such as Ali Ideflawen.

Following the closure of Dzaïr TV after Ali Haddad’s downfall, he was arrested for the first time in 2019 before continuing his work independently, primarily on social media. Notably, he organized a broadcast giving a platform to several candidates in the June 12 legislative elections while maintaining nuanced personal positions on voting, advocating participation rather than a boycott in order to “win more space for expression.”

Mobilization is organizing

A collective of lawyers has formed in Tizi Ouzou to handle his defense. The CPJ has demanded his immediate release, with its regional program coordinator recalling that Algerian authorities must “allow the press to work freely, without fear of arrest or reprisal.” According to the organization’s data, at least seven journalists are currently imprisoned in Algeria in connection with their work.

Beyond the ideological divisions this case may provoke, a simple principle is at stake: the right to inform, to film, and to recount what happens in the public sphere without fear of imprisonment. Mourad Ait Mimoun’s detention is part of a series of similar cases targeting critical voices in Kabylie and elsewhere in Algeria, serving as yet another reminder of the urgent need to secure the release of all prisoners of conscience.