Newspapers join protest against Blushat arrest

In spite of the developments in the crisis between the Algerian government and the opposition during the past few days, the crisis aggravated as 6 Algerian newspapers issued a joint statement in which they protested the arrest of Omar Blushat, the Editor-in-Chief of the Watan Daily, and in which they also expressed their worry about the disappearance of the journalist Bin Meloud.

The 6 newspapers are Al Watan, La Tribune, Le Omboire, L'Algerie, Le Matin, and the Al Khabar.

The disappearance of columnist Yasser Bin Meloud is still the subject of great controversy in the press and political circles in Algeria. The Algerian government had earlier denied that the police arrested him, but Al Watan insisted that he disappeared and that the Algerian authorities are responsible for this disappearance.