Spain, a former colonial power, decided to recognize to support Morocco’s position on Western Sahara earlier this year going against its long-held stance of backing a UN-led referendum to decide the status of the territory

The workers will protest the rising prices of essential goods and commodities, as well as the gradually deteriorating economic and social situation in the country

According to media reports, the clemency orders issued on Sunday included the Hirak activists released from pre-trial detention last week on a provisional basis

Several commentators and social media users in Algeria have noted that the release coincides with the visit of a high-ranking US official and likely took placedue to politically motivated reasons

Ghares was convicted on charges of insulting the president and harming national unity. He was sentenced to two years in prison in January

The independent journalist was arrested in March 2020 and charged with various serious offenses while he was covering the anti-establishment Hirak protests in Algeria

Ghares was arrested and placed in pre-trial detention last year in July after police raided and searched his home

The decision by Algeria has worsened the already fraught diplomatic relations between the two countries. It also raises concerns about gas shortage and energy price rise in Europe, with predictions of high demand during the cold winter months

The Algerian government’s actions come following comments by French president Emmanuel Macron, which the government said amounts to foreign interference in its internal affairs

Relations between the two countries have been souring for the last couple of years. One month before closing the airspace, diplomatic ties between the countries had been terminated

Mohamed Mouloudj faces charges such as spreading false news, harming national unity, and belonging to a terrorist group. The authorities also arrested several prominent civil society figures, including academics, journalists and a Hirak activist  

A number of journalists critical of the government have been arrested and sentenced to prison terms. Algeria’s rank in the World Press Freedom rankings published annually by Reporters Without Borders has also slipped to 146 out of 180 countries, down 27 places since 2015