The Sports Journalist Locked Up on Terrorism Charges

Last year, Christophe Gleizes, an independent French sports journalist, traveled to Algeria to cover a variety of stories related to that country’s soccer scene, including commemorations marking the tenth anniversary of the death, under mysterious circumstances, of a player for JS Kabylie, one of Algeria’s most prominent clubs. Shortly after entering the country, however, Gleizes was arrested. This ought, perhaps, to have been a major international story, but his family, a publisher with which he has worked, and press-freedom groups kept quiet about it, apparently on the advice of France’s foreign ministry, which seemed to judge that giving the case publicity would diminish the chances of a favorable outcome. Meanwhile, Gleizes was released but banned from leaving Algeria, even for his brother’s wedding. His mother and partner were able to visit him; he passed his time writing, exercising, and teaching chess to autistic children. He tried to reassure friends and colleagues over WhatsApp, according to a report in Le Monde. But he also spoke of the “hard reality of solitude.”