Christophe Gleizes has spent 500 days in detention in Algeria and remains under a seven-year prison sentence. On 11 November, his supporters are staging a football-led public campaign in Paris to press for his release, while a possible individual presidential pardon remains the avenue they are pursuing.
France 24 reports that the So Foot and Society reporter was arrested in Kabylia in May 2024 while working on a report about JS Kabylie. He was sentenced in June 2025 on a charge described in the report as “apology for terrorism”; the seven-year sentence was upheld on appeal in December 2025.
Reporters Without Borders and Gleizes’s support committee are organising a solidarity match beneath the Eiffel Tower on Wednesday to mark the 500-day point. France 24 reports that 22 figures from sport, culture, media and politics are expected to participate. Students at Lille’s political studies institute and several French town halls are also joining the mobilisation.
France 24 further reports that Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune signed a 31 October clemency decree covering 5,539 prisoners, excluding people convicted of terrorism-related offences. Gleizes’s supporters are therefore calling for an individual presidential pardon.
The report mentions press speculation about behind-the-scenes talks between France and Algeria. Gleizes’s lawyer, Emmanuel Daoud, said he had never been approached about such an arrangement. The immediate development is the renewed public campaign around a sentence that remains in force.
Sources
- France 24 Tous titres · Source date: 2026-11-11
Independent editorial content. WUA is not affiliated with any political party. 2026-11-11