Mohammed Boualem Benchicou محمد بنشيكو | |
|---|---|
) Mohamed Benchicou signing autographs | |
| Born | July 1, 1952 |
| Nationality | Algeria |
| Occupation | Journalist, activist |
| Known for | Le Matin newspaper, Bouteflika.. an Algerian Fraud |
Mohammed Boualem Benchicou (Arabic: محمد بنشيكو) (born 1952 in Miliana, Aïn Defla Province) was the director and publisher of the Algerian newspaper Le Matin (English: the sunrise), closed in August 2006.[1]
Career
In 1989, he was one of the founders of the movement of Algerian journalists (MJA) a movement born during the opening of the media field. He then leads the team which relaunched Alger Républicain, banned from publication in 1965. Benchicou left Alger Républicain in 1991, the daily Le Matin, newspaper of opposition.
In June 2004, he was sentenced to two years in prison for an infraction in money exchange regulation. In July, SIMPRAL, the Algiers-based government publisher, stopped printing Le Matin for its failure to pay a debt of 38 million dinars ($535,200)[2]
PEN (the international association of writers) says Benchicou's prison conditions are harsh, with 50 prisoners to a cell. Benchicou's health has reportedly deteriorated since his imprisonment and he is now seriously ill.
Benchicou also published a book in 2004 called Bouteflika, an Algerian “fraud”, believed to be the source of all his juridic problems.[3]
Personal life
Mohamed Benchicou is the eldest of a family of seven children. He is married and father of three children, two girls and a boy.
Awards and honors
Bibliography
- Bouteflika, une imposture algérienne (Bouteflika an Algerian "Fake"), Le Matin Editions - Picollec, 2004
- Les geôles d’Alger (Prisons of Algiers), Inas - Riveneuve, 2007
- Je pardonnerai, (I'll Forgive, Poems), Inas, 2008
- Journal d'un homme libre, (A Freeman's Diaries) Auteur-Riveneuve, 2008
- Notre ami Bouteflika, de l'état rêvé à l'état scélérat (Our Friend Bouteflika), Riveneuve, 2010
- Le mensonge de Dieu (God's Lie), Michalon, 2011
- Le dernier soir du dictateur (Last Night of a Dictator), Riveneuve, 2011
External links
References
- ^ On August 23, 2003, border police at Algiers airport searched Benchicou’s baggage in his presence and found certificates issued by a bank in Algeria and valued at 11.7 million Algerian dinars (U.S.$127,000)
- ^ "Report on Human Rights Practices for 2004 -Algeria". Jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
- ^ "Mohamed Benchicou condamné - Afrik.com : l'actualité de l'Afrique noire et du Maghreb - Le quotidien panafricain". Afrik.com. Retrieved 2013-03-09.