Algeria expels a Moroccan journalist after being interrogated for hours

On Wednesday, the Algerian authorities expelled a Moroccan journalist who works for American Arabic-language channel Al Hurra to the United States.

Abdellah Imassi was immediately arrested, upon arrival in Algiers’ Houari Boumediene airport. After spending hours in an interrogation room, he was deported by the Algerian authorities to the United States.

#Algérie
Après un interrogatoire de plus de 6 heures , le journaliste marocain Abdellah #Imassi, resident à Washington et travaillant pour le compte de @alhurra ,vient d'être relâché par les autorités algériennes qui décident de son expulsion immédiate vers les #USA.#presse

— Samira sitaïl (@Samirasitail1) 16 mai 2019

In the past, several Moroccan journalists have been prevented from covering events in Algeria. During the 2014 Algerian presidential elections, a team from Morocco’s TV channel 2M was not allowed to cover the vote.

Meanwhile in Morocco, authorities arrested in May 2017 an Algerian journalist who was in Nador to cover Hirak protests. He was immediately deported to his country.