toughen sentences against the media. Finally, the Charter for peace and national reconciliation prohibits referral to past acts of war that are barred by limitation or pardoned. The government’s international and commitment to freedom of expression national At the international level, Algeria has, in theory, nothing to be criticized for. The country has ratified practically all conventions relating to human rights, from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights as well as the Arab Charter on Human Rights. However, the application of these instruments is not always simple. In certain cases in fact (eg. the Protocol to the African Charter on Women’s Rights in Africa), Algeria had reservations that void the text of its substance. At the national level, regulations on publications are quite liberal, in theory. In reality, however, the government can control the process through mechanisms it has put in place (eg. printing houses demand clearance from the line ministry). The journalistic profession was equally freely exercised. But a decree dated 10 May 2008 stipulates that a journalist must possess a higher education diploma relating to the profession, shall have no criminal record and shall enjoy all of his civil rights unless the individual is already conducting activities in relation to the profession. Exercising the journalistic profession There are obstacles to exercising the profession of journalist. Act 90-07 compels journalists to reveal their sources in certain cases: defence secrets, strategic economic secrets, national security offences, confidentiality of judicial inquiries. Theoretically, there is free access to public information. In practice however, access is difficult and poorly organised. The government chooses, mainly through the press agency Algérie Presse Service, to supply information it considers appropriate. Access to the internet is not controlled and no attempts have been noted to filter or block content. The media and civil society Civil society is not sufficiently well-organised to use the media or constitute strong lobby groups to defend the media. Even when these lobby groups exist, they are often pressured by the government (eg.: fiscal retaliatory measures against heads of media outlets who went to Brussels to condemn the “arbitrary” sentencing of Mohamed Benchicou, editor of the newspaper Le Matin). Worse, certain civil society organisations often accuse the media of serving the purposes of the government in attacking them. With the exception of Act 90-07, civil society is not involved in the media legislation process. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ALGERIA 2009 7