Algeria's army chief renews push for presidential election

Algeria's powerful army chief is stressing the need for political dialogue that would lead to a presidential election, as a people's revolt for democracy remains at an impasse with the government.

Ahmed Gaid Salah also said on Monday that a crackdown on "the scourge of corruption" since President Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned in early April would spare none of those who benefited at the expense of Algerian citizens.

The remarks Gaid Salah made in a speech were his first public comments in three weeks. He helped pressure Bouteflika to step down, but angered pro-democracy protesters afterward by supporting a since-canceled presidential election that had been set for July 4.

Algerian protesters gather during an anti-government demonstration in the centre of the capital Algiers, Algeria, Friday, June 14, 2019. Algeria is in the midst of an unprecedented anti-corruption crusade, sparked by a people's revolt in February and prompting many lawmakers to be questioned over allegations, and former Algerian prime minister Abdelmalek Sellal jailed Thursday in an anti-corruption sweep.(AP PhotoFateh Guidoum)

Two former prime ministers, several once-powerful generals and the ex-president's brother are the people already jailed on suspicion of corruption.

Algerian protesters gather during an anti-government demonstration in the centre of the capital Algiers, Algeria, Friday, June 14, 2019. Algeria is in the midst of an unprecedented anti-corruption crusade, sparked by a people's revolt in February and prompting many lawmakers to be questioned over allegations, and former Algerian prime minister Abdelmalek Sellal jailed Thursday in an anti-corruption sweep.(AP PhotoFateh Guidoum)

Algerian protesters gather during an anti-government demonstration in the centre of the capital Algiers, Algeria, Friday, June 14, 2019. Algeria is in the midst of an unprecedented anti-corruption crusade, sparked by a people's revolt in February and prompting many lawmakers to be questioned over allegations. (AP PhotoAnis Belghoul)

Algerian protesters gather during an anti-government demonstration in the center of the capital Algiers, Algeria, Friday, June 14, 2019. Algeria is in the midst of an unprecedented anti-corruption crusade, sparked by a people's revolt in February and prompting many lawmakers to be questioned over allegations, and former Algerian prime minister Abdelmalek Sellal jailed Thursday in an anti-corruption sweep.(AP PhotoFateh Guidoum)

Algerian protesters gather during an anti-government demonstration in the centre of the capital Algiers, Algeria, Friday, June 7, 2019. Banner in Arabic reads "No to PM Bensaleh's second mandate". (AP PhotoFateh Guidoum)

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — An Algerian journalist was expelled from the country after flying in from France and not being allowed to leave the airport as journalists continue to face challenges reporting in Algeria.

Farid Alilat, a writer for the French-language magazine Jeune Afrique, wrote on Facebook that he spent 11 hours in police custody on Saturday at the airport before being boarded onto a plane and sent to France, where he has a residency permit.

Alilat said he regularly takes flights from Paris to Algiers to report on Algeria, where he has for years been a well-known journalist due to his work for French-language daily newspapers including Liberté, which was shuttered in 2022 amid financial problems and scuffles with the government and Algeria's state-owned oil company, both of which are major advertisers for the country's newspapers.

In a lengthy post in which he wrote of his deportation as if he were reporting on it, Alilat alleged that police officers on the tarmac in Algiers told him that they were acting on orders “from above.”

He said he was interrogated about his travels, who he has met with and about Jeune Afrique, which Algerian authorities believe favors their neighbor and regional rival, Morocco.

“I completely understand that my articles are a source of irritation. I am a free journalist. I cover the news of my country as a free and independent journalist,” Alilat wrote, noting that he was not given any verbal or written explanation for his expulsion.

He wrote that he had never previously heard of any issues from law enforcement or the courts in Algeria regarding his articles, including during a reporting trip in December 2023

Few Algerian media outlets reported on Alilat's expulsion and few politicians commented on it. Former Communications Minister Abdelaziz Rahabi called it “a measure from another era that serves neither the people nor the government.”

“No one can be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter their own country," he wrote on Facebook.

The episode is the latest instance of Algeria's government restricting journalists from reporting in Algeria and comes while high-profile journalists, including editors Ihsane El Kadi and Mustapha Benjama remain in prison on charges related to using foreign funds to finance journalism and disrupting public order.

The government, however, has also resumed granting authorizations to journalists starting new media outlets or television shows and last year passed a law enshrining new protections for journalists.

Farid Alilat, a writer for the French-language magazine Jeune Afrique poses for photo in Paris, France, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Alilat was expelled from Algeria after flying in from France and not being allowed to leave the airport as journalists continue to face challenges reporting in Algeria. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Farid Alilat, a writer for the French-language magazine Jeune Afrique poses for photo in Paris, France, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Alilat was expelled from Algeria after flying in from France and not being allowed to leave the airport as journalists continue to face challenges reporting in Algeria. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Farid Alilat, a writer for the French-language magazine Jeune Afrique poses for photo in Paris, France, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Alilat was expelled from Algeria after flying in from France and not being allowed to leave the airport as journalists continue to face challenges reporting in Algeria. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)