Algeria: Drareni’s Appeal Postponed Until March

A demonstrator carries a national flag during a protest to mark the second anniversary of a mass protest movement demanding political change, in Algiers, Algeria February 22, 2021. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina
A demonstrator carries a national flag during a protest to mark the second anniversary of a mass protest movement demanding political change, in Algiers, Algeria February 22, 2021. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina
TT

Algeria: Drareni’s Appeal Postponed Until March

A demonstrator carries a national flag during a protest to mark the second anniversary of a mass protest movement demanding political change, in Algiers, Algeria February 22, 2021. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina
A demonstrator carries a national flag during a protest to mark the second anniversary of a mass protest movement demanding political change, in Algiers, Algeria February 22, 2021. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina

Algeria's supreme court Thursday postponed until late March the appeal of prominent journalist Khaled Drareni, jailed after covering anti-government protests a year ago, local media reported.

The court "postponed until March 25 the decision to re-examine the case of journalist Khaled Drareni for a new ruling", reported the Casbah Tribune, an online news site that Drareni founded.

The correspondent for French-language TV5 Monde and press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) was provisionally released after almost a year in prison last Friday.

He was released along with dozens of pro-democracy activists under presidential pardons issued ahead of the second anniversary of the "Hirak" uprising which swept former strongman Abdelaziz Bouteflika from power in 2019.

Arrested in March last year on charges of "inciting an unarmed gathering" and "endangering national unity" after covering Hirak demonstrations, the 40-year-old was sentenced on appeal in September to two years in jail.

"We will continue to campaign for all the charges against Khaled to be dropped," said rights group Amnesty International on Twitter after the postponement was announced.

He told AFP in an interview this week that he is determined to return to work as a journalist and to defend a free press.



US Military Says It Strikes Iran-Backed Militia Facility in Syria

A convoy of US military vehicles near Qamishli, Syria, February 2020. (SANA/via Reuters)
A convoy of US military vehicles near Qamishli, Syria, February 2020. (SANA/via Reuters)
TT

US Military Says It Strikes Iran-Backed Militia Facility in Syria

A convoy of US military vehicles near Qamishli, Syria, February 2020. (SANA/via Reuters)
A convoy of US military vehicles near Qamishli, Syria, February 2020. (SANA/via Reuters)

US forces conducted strikes in Syria against Iranian-aligned militia groups for a second day in a row Tuesday in response to further attacks on US personnel, US Central Command said late Tuesday.

In the latest retaliatory strikes, US forces hit a weapons storage and logistics facility after militia groups launched a rocket attack on US personnel at Patrol Base Shaddadi in Eastern Syria.

Earlier Tuesday, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said that over the weekend the militias had also targeted US personnel with a drone attack and indirect fires at another base, Green Village, where US troops are operating — which prompted the US to strike nine militia targets on Monday in self-defense.

There are about 900 US troops deployed in Syria. No US troops were injured in either attack.