Algeria bans Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya for 'disinformation'

The Algerian Ministry of Communication announced on Saturday that it has withdrawn accreditation for the Saudi-owned news channel Al-Arabiya over disinformation, according to reports by the Algerian Press Service (APS).

"A decision was reached to withdraw the accreditation of Al-Arabiya news channel for not respecting the rules of professional ethics and practicing media misinformation and manipulation," a statement by the Algerian Ministry of Communications said, according to APS. 

Al-Arabiya did not issue a response to its banning at the time of publishing.

The move by the ministry follows a similar decision in June, when French outlet France 24 lost its accreditation for "clear and repeated hostility towards our country and its institutions", according to a spokesperson from the ministry. 

The Algerian authorities say they don't restrict media freedom but demand media outlets to adhere to objectivity and professional ethics.

Algeria has witnessed numerous protests following the resignation of former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika in 2019. 

The Hirak movement has led many of these protests calling for the  dismantling of the whole political system set up at the independence of Algeria in 1962, and systematic government reforms.

As well as banning foreign media outlets, Algerian authorities have also targeted its own journalists, sentencing journalists like Khaled Drareni, who was jailed for two years in September for "inciting an unarmed gathering" and "endangering national unity".