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TUNISIA-ALGERIA-POLITICS-MEDIA
Protest-hit Algeria expels a Reuters correspondent
TUNIS, April 1, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Algerian authorities on Sunday expelled a
Reuters journalist who had been covering anti-government protests in the
North African country a day after arresting him, his employer and relatives
said.
Algerian police questioned Tunisian journalist Tarek Amara before deciding
to expel him, relatives said.
A spokesperson for Reuters confirmed that Amara was put on a plane headed
for Tunis where he is based.
“I can now confirm that Tarek was detained by Algerian authorities and has
been expelled today,” the spokesperson said in an email to AFP.
“We are concerned by the Algerian authorities’ treatment of… Tarek Amara
and are seeking further information on the matter. Tarek’s reporting on the
protests in Algiers was fair and balanced, and we stand by our story,” the
spokesperson added.
Amara had been covering the protests in Algeria for the past few days and
had been given temporary accreditation from Algerian authorities to carry out
his work, the spokesperson said.
There was no immediate reaction from Algerian authorities concerning his
expulsion.
His arrest came a day after Algerians thronged the streets of Algiers and
other cities for the sixth-consecutive Friday demanding that ailing President
Abdelaziz Bouteflika step down and urging a change in the country’s political
establishment.
The Directorate General for National Security (DGSN) denied “figures given
by local or foreign media on the number of participants at the march in the
capital”, without naming Reuters specifically.
Reuters reported a figure of one million in Algiers on Friday, but then
gave the denial by the DGSN.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0840 hrs