Mohamed TADJADIT

Poet and activist in the ‘Hirak’ protest movement, which overthrew the former Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika in 2019,  Mohamed Tadjadit spent nine months arbitrarily detained in connection with his exercise of his right to free expression before his release in October 2024.

On 29 January 2024, he was arrested from his home in Algiers and received a pre-trial detention order. Two days later, Tadjadit appeared before the prosecutor at the Court of Roubia in the Algerian capital in the absence of his lawyer. He faced charges under Articles 87 bis 4 and bis 12 of the Penal Code, including ‘glorification of terrorism‘ and ‘using communication technologies to support the actions and activities of terrorist organisations,’ concerning his social media videos and private communications. Tadjadit was released on 31 October 2024 following a presidential pardon, which included over 4,000 prisoners, among whom were many journalists and another Hirak poet, Djamila Bentouis.

Mohamed Tadjadit, born in 1995, participated in the Algerian anti-government protests in February 2019 known as the ‘Hirak’ movement – sparked by the election of President Boutafiliqa to a fifth term in office – where he performed his slam poetry critical of the authorities. He has been dubbed ‘the poet of the Hirak’, becoming a well-known figure of the protest movement, resulting in increased state surveillance and judicial harassment; he has been arrested at least four times since 2019 in connection with his poetry and political activism in Hirak (see Case List 2020).

Update: On 16 January 2025, Algerian authorities arrested and detained Tadjadit in relation to his online expression. Four days later, he was sentenced to five years in prison. On 23 January, a European Parliament resolution called for his release.