French journalist Christophe Gleizes marks 500 days in Algerian jail

After being detained for almost 500 days in Algeria, Christophe Glaize is no closer to being freed. Those close to him, as well as his fellow sports journalists, have campaigned tirelessly for his release with the affair even attracting the attention of Zinedine Zidane, manager of the French football team. It's an issue rooted in diplomatic and political tensions between France and Algeria, tensions that go to the highest level of government. And for more on this, I can welcome our guest this morning, Pierre de la Sauce, who is a member of the support committee for Christophe Glaize, as well as being a close friend of Christophe. Good morning, Pierre. Thank you very much for joining us. Christophe has been behind bars for 500 days now. How hopeful are you and your fellow supporters of him walking free someday soon? Thank you for having me. Well, as you've just mentioned, Christophe has been detained for 500 days now. Actually, it's been more than 1,000 days that he's away from us because he was arrested in Algeria in May 2024. 24 and And regarding our hopes for his liberation, we are as determined as ever to pursue our campaign to ensure that Christophe stays on top of media and political agenda to ensure his true freedom. Now, you and your fellow friends and activists have been carrying out this campaign on his behalf. Are you satisfied with the French government's efforts to help secure Christophe's release? Well, we know that the French government is engaged and actively engaged in, you know, the negotiations for Christophe's release. We also know that there is a presidential election coming, as you know, in a couple of months here in France. And so I want to urge the French government, namely Emmanuel Macron, but also all the French authorities involved in the case, To make sure that. This case can come to an end because 500 days is way too long and now it's become really unbearable for him, for his relatives, for his family, for his supporters, which are increasingly, which are in increasingly numbers worldwide. So, yeah, that's what we are aiming to do now. Now, some figures are calling for Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to grant a pardon, as he did with the writer Boualem Sansal. But would this be enough for you? Would you prefer that his conviction also be overturned? No, we want Christophe to come home to us. That's the only objective. Obviously, now the only possible solution, as you mentioned, is a presidential grace by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. So any solution that can allow Christophe to come back to us as swiftly as possible is the right solution. Do you think Christophe's plight has served as a warning for foreign journalists intending to work in Algeria? Well, unfortunately, the case of Christophe has become now a symbol for the defense of press freedom worldwide. So obviously, we know that reporters are now paying a heavy price for trying to do their job. And Christophe is a sports journalist that wanted to write on the greatness of Algerian football. And can you imagine now he's detained in an Algerian prison? So the message we want to convey here is very clear. And that's something that we've... kept saying and saying throughout our campaign, when writing about football leads you to jail, it's our collective freedom that is at stake. So we really want to make sure that this message is understood and renewed across every opportunity that we have to make sure that not only it still is a symbol of press freedom, but also released as soon as possible. Now, if Christophe had not been arrested in Algeria and imprisoned, what do you think he would be doing today? Well, I would be doing the thing that he loved, that is journalism. He would be on the field, continuing his work, trying to write stories about people, because he is a great journalist, first and foremost. He's a guy that I've known for 32 years. And I can tell you that... In French, we say Soler, so he really has a character that is empathetic, that is really generous. And I know that this is a quality of great journalism, you know, that being able to connect swiftly with people to make sure that the stories are told in a respectful and meaningful way. So that's what he would be doing. Christophe would be on the field. Christophe's case has generated a lot of media coverage here in France with a lot of prominent personalities signing a petition for his release. How has the international reaction been? Well, it's been unanimous, you know, like, as I said, the case of Christophe is now known worldwide through the help of the world of football, notably. As you know, we had the support of FIFA that accredited Christophe for the World Cup this summer. We had the Ballon d'Or ceremony through the support of UEFA that allowed Christophe to gain... international visibility so for us you know the reactions have been unanimous and when we have like a spontaneous manifestation of solidarity coming to us they all say the same thing sports journalists should not be in jail for doing his work journalism is not a crime it's now very clear for the world that this case is really a symbol of press freedom and the dangers of of trying to do your work when you're a reporter. Thank you very much for that, Pierre de la Saussure, who's a member of the support committee for Christophe Glaze, who is 500 days in prison now in Algeria.