Algerian authorities freeze al-Jazeera TV activities

The Algerian authorities yesterday issued a decision provided for banning the activities of al-Jazeera TV channel there for unlimited period of time, giving no justification for this sudden decision.

Al-Jazeera correspondent in Algiers, Muhammad Dahhoiu, said that when he inquired the reasons behind this measure from the Algerian minister of information Haishour Bu Jumaa, the minister said that the matter relates to re-organizing the work of foreign media offices in Algeria.

For the first time since the Algerian president Abdul Aziz Butaflika assumed power in April 1999, the Algerian authorities had not suspended any of the foreign media while harassing and chasing acts of Algerian journalists have not stopped since several years.

The director of " al-Rai al-Am" press group, Ahmad Bin Naoum, was detained on Monday in Wahran to the west of Algiers and was taken to the prison of the city following a complaint against him of defaming, while the director of the Algerian French language daily Le Mattin, Muhammad Bin Sheko, is still in prison since June 14 under the same accusation.

The "Sans frontier correspondents" organization on June 23 called in a statement to pending imprisonment sentences of defaming accusations. The organization which takes Paris as a headquarters said that " the authority should put an end to this escalation in oppressing the freedom of the press."