Blogger Gets Two-Year Jail Term For Insulting President

An Algerian journalist and blogger was sentenced to two years in jail and ordered to pay a fine for insulting President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, a defence lawyer said Monday.Mohamed Tamalt’s lawyer,

Amine Sidhoum, told AFP that he would lodge an appeal against the prison sentence and the fine of 200,000 dinars ($1,800, 1,630 euros).Tamalt, who lives in London, was arrested in June during a visit
to Algiers on charges of “offending the president of the republic” and Algeria’s constitutional bodies, under articles of the penal code, the lawyer said.The 42-year-old also runs a website and reportedly posted on Facebook allegations about the president, Algerian officials and members of their families.He was liable to a fine under the penal code but not a prison term, according to the lawyer.There was no immediate official confirmation of the ruling.
AFP