Algeria Upholds Conviction of Journalist; Rights Groups Fear New Crackdown

People gather in a show of support for Khaled Drareni, outside the court house Tuesday, Sept.8, 2020 in Algiers. (AP)
People gather in a show of support for Khaled Drareni, outside the court house Tuesday, Sept.8, 2020 in Algiers. (AP)
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Algeria Upholds Conviction of Journalist; Rights Groups Fear New Crackdown

People gather in a show of support for Khaled Drareni, outside the court house Tuesday, Sept.8, 2020 in Algiers. (AP)
People gather in a show of support for Khaled Drareni, outside the court house Tuesday, Sept.8, 2020 in Algiers. (AP)

An Algerian appeals court upheld the conviction of a journalist on Tuesday in what rights campaigners called a new crackdown on dissent aimed at preventing the revival of mass protests that toppled veteran ruler Abdelaziz Bouteflika last year.

The Hirak popular protest movement brought thousands of Algerians to the streets for weekly demonstrations, which continued even after Bouteflika quit and a new president was elected in December.

A judicial source and a rights group that defends detainees said the appeals court had upheld the conviction of journalist Khaled Drareni on charges which include threatening national unity and “inciting unarmed gatherings”.

His sentence was reduced to two years from a three-year term imposed by a lower court last month.

The mass demonstrations in Algeria lasted more than a year until they were finally halted in March by a coronavirus lockdown. Some campaigners say they plan to return to the streets once the lockdown is lifted.

They demand the military-backed ruling elite give way to a new generation of leadership.

Drareni has been in detention since his arrest in March after he attended demonstrations.

The court in Algiers also confirmed four-month prison sentences against two other activists in the protest movement, Samir Benlarbi and Slimane Hamitouche, for inciting unarmed gatherings, the source and the National Committee for the Release of Detainees said.

“These harsh sentences underline the broader crackdown on freedoms in the country, and confirm an alarming pattern of prosecutions targeting journalists and activists who called for more democracy and respect for the rule of law in Algeria,” rights watchdog Amnesty International said in a statement.



Egypt Says GERD Lacks Legally Binding Agreement

This grab taken from video shows Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, Ethiopia, Feb. 20, 2022. (AP Photo)
This grab taken from video shows Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, Ethiopia, Feb. 20, 2022. (AP Photo)
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Egypt Says GERD Lacks Legally Binding Agreement

This grab taken from video shows Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, Ethiopia, Feb. 20, 2022. (AP Photo)
This grab taken from video shows Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, Ethiopia, Feb. 20, 2022. (AP Photo)

Egypt said Friday that Ethiopia has consistently lacked the political will to reach a binding agreement on its now-complete dam, an issue that involves Nile River water rights and the interests of Egypt and Sudan.

Ethiopia’s prime minister said Thursday that the country’s power-generating dam, known as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), on the Nile is now complete and that the government is “preparing for its official inauguration” in September.

Egypt has long opposed the construction of the dam, because it would reduce the country's share of Nile River waters, which it almost entirely relies on for agriculture and to serve its more than 100 million people.

The more than the $4 billion dam on the Blue Nile near the Sudan border began producing power in 2022. It’s expected to eventually produce more than 6,000 megawatts of electricity — double Ethiopia’s current output.

Ethiopia and Egypt have spent years trying to reach an agreement over the dam, which Ethiopia began building in 2011.

Both countries reached no deal despite negotiations over 13 years, and it remains unclear how much water Ethiopia will release downstream in case of a drought.

Egyptian officials, in a statement, called the completion of the dam “unlawful” and said that it violates international law, reflecting “an Ethiopian approach driven by an ideology that seeks to impose water hegemony” instead of equal partnership.

“Egypt firmly rejects Ethiopia’s continued policy of imposing a fait accompli through unilateral actions concerning the Nile River, which is an international shared watercourse,” Egypt’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation said in a statement Friday.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, in his address to lawmakers Thursday, said that his country “remains committed to ensuring that our growth does not come at the expense of our Egyptian and Sudanese brothers and sisters.”

“We believe in shared progress, shared energy, and shared water,” he said. “Prosperity for one should mean prosperity for all.”

However, the Egyptian water ministry said Friday that Ethiopian statements calling for continued negotiations “are merely superficial attempts to improve its image on the international stage.”

“Ethiopia’s positions, marked by evasion and retreat while pursuing unilateralism, are in clear contradiction with its declared willingness to negotiate,” the statement read.

However, Egypt is addressing its water needs by expanding agricultural wastewater treatment and improving irrigation systems, according to the ministry, while also bolstering cooperation with Nile Basin countries through backing development and water-related projects.