During a trip to Algeria, Ségolène Royal claims to have secured the transfer of French journalist Christophe Gleizes to a prison near Algiers. The former minister, now president of the France-Algeria Association, visited the reporter on Friday at the Tizi-Ouzou prison, where he had been held since June.
A "humanitarian gesture" in a context of high tensions
According to her, this transfer would be a significant step forward as it would bring Christophe Gleizes closer to his family and facilitate visits. Ségolène Royal said she found him "as calm as possible," describing a prisoner who reads a lot, plays sports, and shows "neither acrimony nor resentment." She also emphasized that the journalist wishes to avoid being "exploited" or "overexposed in the media," while remaining sensitive to the public outcry in France.
Christophe Gleizes is serving a seven-year prison sentence for "apology for terrorism." Ségolène Royal specifies that he has received very few visits since his incarceration, mentioning in particular his parents and Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco. She believes that her own visit was made possible thanks to an exceptional authorization, which she interprets as a sign of openness on the part of the Algerian authorities.
Finally, the former presidential candidate indicated that she had supported the pardon request submitted by the journalist's family to President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. She stated that she was not on an unofficial mission to Emmanuel Macronwhile acknowledging that his approach is perceived in Algiers as a significant gesture in a period marked by a persistent diplomatic crisis between Paris and Algiers.
