Christophe Gleizes’s mother requests pardon from Algerian president | OneFootball

Christophe Gleizes’s mother has asked Algerian president Abdelmadjid Tebboune to grant a pardon, seeking the release of the French sports journalist after he was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Gleizes, 36, was arrested on 28 May 2024 while on assignment in Algeria covering Jeunesse Sportive de Kabylie, JSK, based in Tizi-Ouzou around 100 km east of Algiers.

On 3 December 2025, the Tizi-Ouzou appeals court upheld a seven-year term for apologie du terrorisme. The case centred on alleged exchanges with individuals linked to the Kabylie self-determination movement, the MAK, which Algeria classifies as a terrorist organisation.

He has also filed a cassation appeal seeking a new trial.

In a letter dated 10 December, his mother Sylvie Godard asked the president to consider pardoning Christophe so he can rejoin his family, appealing to the head of state’s benevolence. She said the decision to uphold the sentence was a devastating shock and is incomprehensible given the facts and her son’s record, adding that none of his writings are hostile to Algeria or its people.

Reporters Sans Frontières, which leads his support committee, backed the clemency request and urged a swift decision to free him, arguing it would end a grave injustice.

Source: L'Équipe