ALGIERS: An Algiers appeals court on Tuesday reduced historian Mohamed Amine Belghit’s prison sentence from five years to three, with two years suspended, following his conviction over comments dismissing the existence of Amazigh culture.
The Amazigh, often called Berbers, are North Africa’s indigenous people, predating the Arab conquests of the 7th century, with communities across Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and beyond.
Belghit was originally sentenced in July after saying in a televised interview that “the Amazigh language is an ideological project of Franco-Zionist origin,” and that “there’s no such thing as Amazigh culture.”
He was arrested in May and charged with undermining national unity and spreading hate speech, as well as insulting national symbols, prosecutors said at the time.
On Tuesday, his lawyer Toufik Hichour said on Facebook that the appeals court had reduced the sentence “to three years in prison and two years suspended.”
Belghit, a university professor, is no stranger to controversy.
His remarks have repeatedly sparked outrage, with critics accusing him of historical revisionism and hostility toward the Amazigh community.
Algeria granted official status to Tamazight, the language of the Amazigh, in 2016.
The following year, the Amazigh new year celebration, Yennayer, was added to the list of national holidays.
Algeria cuts jail time for historian who questioned Amazigh culture
https://arab.news/w5dtd
Algeria cuts jail time for historian who questioned Amazigh culture
- He was arrested in May and charged with undermining national unity and spreading hate speech
- His lawyer said the appeals court had reduced the sentence “to three years in prison and two years suspended“
Israel army ‘temporarily suspends’ strike on south Lebanon
- The Israeli military issued a warning earlier on Saturday announcing an imminent strike and warning people in the Yanuh area of south Lebanon to evacuate immediately
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said it would “temporarily” suspend a strike planned for Saturday that was intended to target what it described as Hezbollah military infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
A November 2024 ceasefire sought to end over a year of fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group, which broke out after the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
But Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon despite the truce, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah members and infrastructure to stop the group from rearming.
The Israeli military issued a warning earlier on Saturday announcing an imminent strike and warning people in the Yanuh area of south Lebanon to evacuate immediately.
But later Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said “the strike was temporarily suspended,” adding that the military “continues to monitor the target.”
The suspension came after the Lebanese army “requested access again to the specified site... and to address the breach of the agreement,” he said on X.
Adraee added that the military would “not allow” Hezbollah to “redeploy or rearm.”
The year-old ceasefire monitoring mechanism includes the United Nations, the United States and France.
A Lebanese security source said the army had previously tried to search the building that the Israeli military wanted to target but could not because of objections from residents.
But the source told AFP that the Lebanese army was able to enter and search the building after returning a second time, because residents “felt threatened,” adding that they were evacuated over fears of a strike.
