Imprisonment of Liberty editor; Algeria: conference for Benflis opposition members

The ruling "correction movement of the national liberation front party," led by Algeria's Minister of State For Foreign Affairs Abdul Aziz Balkhadem, which is in support of the Algerian President Abdul Aziz Butaflika in confrontation of the chairman of the party Ali Benflis announced it will convene a conference in December in preparation for the presidential elections.

In a statement following a meeting for its executive commission yesterday, the movement indicated that it had decided to organize preparatory meetings in all parts of the country to disseminate awareness and explain the objectives of the movement which basically aims at "correcting the policy of the national liberation front party and resetting it to its real principles and values."

The split members doubt the legitimacy of the 8th conference of the National Liberation Front which was held in March and crowned by Benflis' announcement for the front to start pursuing a new policy based on independence from the control of the administration for the first time since the country's independence in 1962. Also the conference nominated Benflis for the elections which will be held in April, 2004. Butaflika had removed Benflis from the prime minister post in May this year.

On the other hand, an Algerian court on Monday sentenced for four month imprisonment ( without execution) the chief editor of the French - language Algerian daily, Liberte, Fareed Eleilat and two of its editors and imposed on them a fee at ( 1500 Euros) and another fee on his paper of ( 30,000 Euros) according to the paper's lawyer Khaled Burayo.

Eleilat has been accused of "undermining the state" after the paper in August published pictures of senior Algerian officials including Butaflika on its front page and the picture was coupled with a caption saying "all of them are thieves."