Opposition lawmaker jailed

An Algiers court has sentenced an opposition figure to two years behind bars on charges of insulting President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. Fethi Ghares, co-ordinator of the Democratic and Social Movement Party, was arrested in late June. A report on the News24 site notes that he was prosecuted for ‘harming the person of the President of the republic’ and ‘spreading information that could harm national unity and public order’. Ghares in 2019 joined the pro-democracy Hirak movement which led mass protests that swept President Abdelaziz Bouteflika from power. The movement still demands the overhaul of Algeria's political system.