ALGERIAN JOURNALIST CONVICTED OF SPYING FOR ISRAEL

Algerian Journalist Convicted Of Spying For Israel, Spain (MEMRI)
A criminal court in Tizi Ouzo (Kabylia) convicted, on July 7, Algerian journalist Said Sahnoun of spying for Israel and Spain, and sentenced him to 10 years' imprisonment. A police officer accused of supplying the journalist with information was acquitted.

According to the charges, Sahnoun was recruited while working at the Le Matin and La Paix newspapers in Benin and the Ivory Coast, during which period he published an article calling Shimon Peres "a man of peace." This article reportedly led to an invitation to Israel, by way of Thailand, where he then attended a two-week course on information-gathering techniques.

According to press reports, Sahnoun traveled in the Middle East and North Africa and sent back reports to Israel, and later worked as a press attaché for the Spanish embassy as well. He is said to have gathered information relating to terrorism and Algerian troop movements.

The defense claimed that the charges were an exaggeration of the facts, and that the documents found in Sahnoun's possession were of a purely journalistic nature.