On December 3, 2025, in Tizi Ouzou, the court of appeal in Algeria confirmed the seven-year sentence imposed on Christophe Gleizes, a 36-year-old French journalist from So Press, for "apology of terrorism" and "possession of publications"; charges he disputes. The authorities cite his alleged contacts with the MAK and a tourist visa. His family, RSF, and the Élysée are calling for his release, between the possibility of cassation and a potential presidential pardon. The decision confirms seven years in prison in Algeria for journalist Christophe Gleizes.
In Tizi Ouzou, a verdict confirmed on appeal
The crash of a ruling echoed in the late afternoon of December 3, 2025. In Tizi Ouzou, the court of appeal "confirmed the judgment rendered in the first instance" and upheld 7 years of imprisonment against Christophe Gleizes, a convicted journalist, 36 years old, who collaborates with So Press. In the courtroom, shock froze the benches. The family collapsed. The prosecution had requested 10 years and a heavy fine. The court upheld the same charges as the initial judgment at the end of June: apology of terrorism and possession of publications deemed harmful to the "national interest." Lawyer Emmanuel Daoud denounced a verdict he considers "shocking" and without evidential basis. At the end of the hearing, one certainty remains: only Abdelmadjid Tebboune, President of the Algerian Republic, can now unlock the doors of a pardon.
Tight timeline of a shattered journey
The story begins in May 2024. Christophe Gleizes, a French sports journalist collaborating with So Press, arrives in Kabylie, a mountainous region east of Algiers, to investigate the Jeunesse Sportive de Kabylie, a legendary Algerian football club. He travels, interviews, and takes notes. On May 28, 2024, he is arrested in Tizi Ouzou and placed under judicial supervision in a hotel. The ban on leaving the territory seals an endless wait. On June 29, 2025, in the first instance, the sentence falls: 7 years in prison for apology of terrorism. Detention follows. The appeal opens more than a year after the arrest. On December 3, 2025, requisitions, pleadings, tight questions, then the deliberation. The same day, the sentence is confirmed. On December 4, 2025, France reacts. The Élysée expresses its "deep concern" and promises to "act" for his release. The family mobilizes. Maxime Gleizes, the younger brother, calls for a presidential pardon. Novelist Boualem Sansal, just pardoned after a long detention, says he "firmly believes" in a similar outcome for the journalist.
The charges and the line of defense
The Algerian authorities claim that Christophe Gleizes made statements akin to an apology of terrorism and possessed publications aimed at propaganda harmful to the State. They mention, according to the Algerian accusation, contacts with individuals linked to the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie. Moreover, Algiers has designated this movement as a terrorist organization since 2021. They also emphasize that he entered with a tourist visa rather than a press visa. At the stand, the journalist acknowledged "mistakes" and apologized, asserting he "never intended to harm." He recalled that he should have requested a visa suited to his work. The defense argues that no material evidence supports the accusation of apology. The computer expertise reportedly "yielded nothing," according to Emmanuel Daoud. The defended thesis is simple and persistent: classic journalistic activities are considered hostile. However, interviews and documentation fall under press investigation.
Kabylie: current events and the MAK prism
The case can only be understood by placing the facts in the long history of Kabylie. The region has built a strong identity expressed in language, cultural life, and the associative fabric. It has also experienced episodes of tension with the central power. The MAK, claimed by its leaders as a political movement, has been classified as a terrorist organization by the Algerian state since May 2021. The name of its leader came up during the hearing, indicating that the Gleizes case falls within this prism of heightened suspicion. In this context, the line blurs between intelligence, administrative police, and criminal justice. The journalist reportedly attended an interview in Paris with this leader in October 2021. The court asked if he knew the organization was classified as terrorist. He replied that he was unaware and expressed shame. This scene outlined the fragile line where professional curiosity and state mistrust stand. To understand this topography, one must keep in mind the mountainous geography of the region. Additionally, the deep attachment of its inhabitants to freedom of expression is essential. Nothing is simple there. The terrain makes nuance indispensable.
A case caught in diplomatic turmoil
Relations between Paris and Algiers have followed a rocky trajectory for years. Ambassador recalls, memorial tensions, disagreements over visas and the movement of people. In this unstable climate, each individual case can take on disproportionate symbolic weight. That of Christophe Gleizes has become a marker. Emmanuel Macron has expressed France’s concern and promised to "continue to act." In Tizi Ouzou, the message circulated to the public benches. In the corridors, words like "honor" and "sovereignty" crossed conversations. On the supporters’ side, Reporters Without Borders publishes the World Press Freedom Index. Furthermore, the organization multiplies its statements. The So Press group reminds that its collaborator is the only French journalist detained abroad. This singularity increases the intensity of the case and places consular protection at the forefront. Diplomacy will have to contend with an independent judiciary proclaimed by Algiers. Moreover, it will face the pressure of a French public attentive to the fate of a reporter.
Cassation or pardon, the narrow paths to exit
Algerian law offers two paths. The first is through cassation. It allows challenging the ruling for legal reasons and not to re-examine the facts. This appeal concerns the application of the law and does not suspend the execution of the sentence. However, a contrary decision can be made. The deadline is short, about a week after the decision. The second is political. The presidential pardon, a prerogative of Abdelmadjid Tebboune, can occur at any time. Supporters hesitate. Should judicial avenues be exhausted first, or should a strategy primarily oriented towards the clemency of the head of state be displayed? Maxime Gleizes publicly advocates for the pardon. Boualem Sansal confirms his belief that it will come. In both cases, the timeline escapes the family. It also escapes the editorial team waiting for their colleague. The wait is long in the shadow of Tizi Ouzou prison. The only certain schedule is that of visits and letters.
At the hearing, Christophe Gleizes: modesty and tears
In the courtroom, Christophe Gleizes spoke with an emotional voice. He said he had "deeply" reflected on his mistakes. He emphasized his intention and the absence of any will to harm. He reiterated his trust in justice while pleading for clemency. The magistrates questioned the itinerary of the report. They mentioned the JS Kabylie, the club that was the initial object of his trip. They probed the notebooks, exchanges, and readings. An entire ordinary toolkit of a profession is here transformed into incriminating evidence. The room held its breath during the announcement of the verdict. A whisper was heard, then silence closed in, heavy as a steel door.
The meaning of words and the ridge line
The notion of apology of terrorism has become a central tool for states facing the threat. It captures gestures, words, signs that, taken in isolation, may seem innocuous. In Algeria, it carries particular weight. It encounters a legacy of war and the memory of the dark years. Moreover, it remains vigilant against anything that appears as a ferment of division. This historical density fuels a broad interpretation of risk and strengthens the hand of prosecutors. The defenders of Christophe Gleizes argue that investigating has been confused with a belligerent intention. They remind that journalism is not a liturgy of certainties, but the patient assembly of contradictory voices. From this friction arises the possible truth.
Kabylie, football, and the freedom to inform
Christophe Gleizes‘s trip aimed at an investigation into the Jeunesse Sportive de Kabylie. The club remains a legend in the country’s stadiums. Football serves as a prism to tell a region, passions, and a history. In Kabylie, the ball rolls on political ridges. There, people talk about freedom of expression, language, and affiliations. An in-depth article on JS Kabylie could only touch on these issues. The reporter delved into this universe where sporting fervor intersects with older loyalties. It is there that the misunderstanding was tied. What elsewhere is called immersion work became a reason for suspicion. Nuance gave way to judicial firmness.
Paris, Algiers, and the test of limits
The French reaction aimed to be measured and firm. Emmanuel Macron expressed his vigilance. Diplomatic services remind of the customs: respect for sovereignty, consular protection, discreet dialogue. The room for maneuver is narrow. A request for pardon is not made in a forum. It is earned at the end of a political calculation whose variables escape those concerned. In Algiers, there is a commitment to the affirmation of an independent judiciary and the idea that national security is non-negotiable. In the middle, a man is deprived of air and light.
Open questions on justice and the press
This case questions how justice intends to delineate the field of the speakable. It questions the position of a state that wants to protect itself and that of a profession that lives by going to see. It reminds that freedom of the press is defended not only by principles but by procedures. It also speaks to the solitude of those who investigate in sensitive areas. Finally, it confronts French diplomacy with its limits. The supposed power of a country does not guarantee the release of a citizen. Words, even the most measured, sometimes hit a wall. One thread remains: cassation, if decided, or pardon if it arises. Between these two lines, Christophe Gleizes waits.
A revealer of Algerian balances, a suspended hope
The Gleizes case remains a revealer. It reveals how a state perceives peril and how a profession perceives its mission. It reveals the political use of an incrimination that has become pivotal. It reveals the fragility of guarantees when a reporter ventures onto a border line. Supporters do not use grand words. They speak of waiting and endurance. They also speak of hope, held but alive, for a presidential gesture. The 7 years confirmed do not only sanction a man. They starkly illuminate the tension between national security and freedom to inform. The story is not over. It is written behind closed doors, in a cell in Tizi Ouzou, and on a desk in Algiers where a pen can, with a stroke, overturn the sentence.