Reports: newspaper censorship committees abrogated

A number of editors-in-chief from Algerian newspapers said that the censorship committees in the print shops of those newspapers were abrogated last week. Those committees were checking the content of the newspapers before they went into print.

The abrogation was not declared formally, and the newspapers' officials were not informed of this step according to the editor-in chief of the private Watan newspaper, Omar Balhousha.

He added that he knew about this step from the staff responsible for printing the newspaper without being informed whether this is a temporary or permanent abrogation.

Balhousha considered that this a positive step if it comes within a bigger attempt to determine anew the relations between Algerian authorities and newspapers.