The trial of Mohamed Belghit concluded last week before the Dar El Beïda Court in Algiers, resulting in a five-year prison sentence.
The prosecution had sought seven years in prison and a fine of 700,000 dinars.
The verdict was delivered on Thursday, July 3, sentencing the academic to five years in prison and a fine of 500,000 dinars.
Belghit was arrested on May 3 following controversial remarks made in late April regarding national identity.
In an interview with the Emirati channel Sky News Arabia, he claimed that Amazigh identity—a component officially recognised by Algeria’s constitution—was a “Franco-Zionist creation.”
He also likened Algerians living abroad to the Harkis (Algerians who sided with France during the war of independence), sparking outrage across the country. His statements were strongly condemned by political, cultural, and historical figures, as well as by the High Commission for Amazighity.
Following his initial court appearance, Mohamed Lamine Belghit was placed in pre-trial detention on May 3.
That same day, the Dar El Beïda Prosecutor’s Office announced that he was being prosecuted for “acts undermining national unity by attacking the symbols of the nation and the Republic, undermining national unity, and spreading hate speech and discrimination via information and communication technologies.”
MK/te/sf/lb/as/APA