French journalist Christophe Gleizes has been detained in Algeria for 500 days, sentenced to seven years in prison for investigating a Kabyle football club. The French press is mobilizing, but the prospects for his release remain slim.
Five hundred days. That's how long it's been since Christophe Gleizes was arrested in Algeria, where he had traveled in May 2024 to report on Jeunesse Sportive de Kabylie, one of the country's most successful football clubs. Arrested shortly after arriving in Tizi Ouzou, he was placed under judicial supervision for nearly a year before being sentenced on June 29, 2025, to seven years in prison for "apology for terrorism" and "possession of publications for propaganda purposes detrimental to the national interest." The Algerian justice system accuses him of giving interviews to figures linked to the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie (MSK), an organization classified as terrorist by Algiers.
To mark this symbolic milestone, forty journalists' associations, including those of RFI and France 24, signed an open letter published in Libération entitled "We will not forget our colleague." The text recalls that Gleizes is "separated from his family, prevented from practicing his profession, and deprived of a fundamental freedom: the freedom to inform," and affirms that "journalism is not a crime."
Two days earlier, the same newspaper had devoted its front page and lead story to the imprisoned journalist, notably publishing two letters exchanged between Gleizes and his brother. These personal texts paint a portrait of a man described as "radiant, strong, smiling, a football fanatic, and passionate about poetry." His stepfather, Francis Godard, testified at the Albert Londres Prize ceremony on October 27th that Gleizes "is doing well" and that he "continues to be a journalist" from his cell, bombarding his fellow inmates with all sorts of questions. This anecdote is reminiscent of the case of Olivier Dubois, the Libération correspondent held hostage in Mali for nearly two years, who also experienced his captivity as an observer before regaining his freedom.
Christophe Gleizes is being held in Koléa prison, where the Archbishop of Algiers, Jean-Paul Vesco, visits him regularly. During their last conversation, the journalist made no secret of his realism: he knows that the resolution of his case is not near. This awareness is partly explained by the diplomatic dimension of the affair. The Algerian authorities are reportedly linking the journalist's fate to that of an Algerian consular agent held in pretrial detention in France, suspected of involvement in the 2024 kidnapping of opposition figure and influencer Amir Boukhors, known as "Amir DZ."
The question of whether Gleizes might be used as a bargaining chip is being openly raised in the regional press. Paris's stance, which encourages caution in solidarity efforts while appearing powerless to move the case forward, is raising questions. Neither the repeated appeals from the journalist's family nor that of Zinedine Zidane on July 28th have swayed Algiers' position. Reporters Without Borders considers the impasse "incomprehensible," especially given the recent warming of Franco-Algerian relations. Now, only a presidential pardon from Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune could pave the way for his release.
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