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

34-year-old Djir was accused of ‘blackmail’ and using a ‘false identity’ and sentenced to three years in prison in a common law case. He is now expected to be released soon after over a year in detention