Algerian newspaper workers jailed

ALGERIA: The manager and a reporter at one of Algeria's leading independent dailies have been jailed for three months for defamation, the newspaper reported Tuesday - sparking concerns for freedom of expression.

The El Watan newspaper said manager Omar Belhouchet and reporter Salima Tlemcani were sentenced Monday by the Algiers criminal court for an article that accused a doctor of being a "charlatan" and practicing exorcism.

As manager, Belhouchet is legally responsible for the newspaper's reports.

The newspaper workers' lawyer, Khaled Bourayou, denounced the sentence and said the facts reported about the health practitioner had been well established. He said the plaintiff had prescribed honey and olive oil to the journalist when she consulted him undercover for her article.

The newspaper also later published the doctor's denial, and the Order of Algerian Doctors confirmed the plaintiff was not registered as a medical doctor, the daily said.

Bourayou said his clients would appeal the sentence, which was harsher than the two months that prosecutors had asked for.

El Watan's manager said about a dozen separate lawsuits were now pending against the newspaper. "It's judiciary overheating; some cases are 10 years old," Belhouchet told The Associated Press.

He suggested the trials were politically motivated. "Authorities are trying to intimidate or quiet down the free-speaking press ahead of key elections," he said.

ALGIERS, Wednesday, AP