Algerian journalist Hassan Bouras at risk, UN experts say

UN rights experts have called for Algerian journalist and rights activist Hassan Bouras to be freed, warning that he faced serious health risks after a hunger strike in pre-trial detention.

Four special rapporteurs mandated by the UN Human Rights Council said Bouras was arrested by plain-clothed security agents outside his home in El-Bayadh, northern Algeria, on April 12, reportedly without a warrant or explanation.

They said he had been ordered into pre-trial detention on several charges, including membership of a terrorist organisation.

The experts said Bouras was placed in solitary confinement on May 2 after starting a hunger strike to protest his detention. During the 26-day hunger strike, he collapsed twice and developed serious health complications, but did not receive adequate medical care, they said.

They urged Algerian authorities to protect Bouras's life, health and freedom of expression, and to give him immediate access to legal counsel and adequate medical care.

The experts said Bouras's arrest followed a pattern of judicial harassment linked to his journalism and human rights work. They also called for an end to what they described as broader harassment and prosecution of journalists and human rights defenders in Algeria.

Algeria ranks 145th out of 180 countries and territories on Reporters Without Borders' 2026 World Press Freedom Index, 19 places lower than the previous year. Amnesty International in May urged Algerian authorities to stop misusing the justice system to punish journalists for their work or for expressing critical or controversial views.