Algeria holds French journalist who entered on tourist visa, Ballon d'Or hears

Football's Ballon d'Or ceremony in London opened on Monday evening with a public appeal for Christophe Gleizes, a 37-year-old French sports journalist serving a seven-year prison sentence in Algeria. The case has drawn attention to the risks of entering Algeria on a tourist visa to carry out reporting work.

Key facts

• Who: Christophe Gleizes, 37, a contributor to French publications So Foot and Society
• Where: Algeria; he travelled there in May 2024 to report on Jeunesse Sportive de Kabylie (JSK)
• Sentence: seven years in prison; his appeal was rejected last December
• Detention: one year, three months and 27 days as displayed at the ceremony
• Visa issue: he entered on a tourist visa and has said he should have applied for an official journalist visa
• Next event: a solidarity football match organised by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on November 11

What happened at the Ballon d'Or?

The gala, organised by France Football magazine in partnership with UEFA, was formally dedicated to Gleizes by co-hosts Kate Scott and Thierry Henry. A large screen behind them showed his portrait, the hashtag #FreeGleize and a running count of his time in detention.

The presenters told the audience the organisers wished to "dedicate this ceremony to Christophe Gleizes". Algerian officials have not commented on the tribute.

Why was he detained?

Gleizes travelled to Algeria in May 2024 to report on JSK, one of the country's best-known football clubs, based in Tizi Ouzou, about 100 kilometres east of Algiers in the mountainous Kabylie region. The region is home mainly to the ethnic Amazigh community and is also the base of the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie (MAK), which Algerian authorities designated a terrorist organisation in 2021.

After his arrival, Algerian authorities arrested him and accused him of supporting terrorism and possessing publications deemed harmful to national security. Prosecutors argued he had not come for legitimate journalism but to commit a "hostile act", relying mainly on his professional communications with a JSK official linked to the MAK. RSF says all his contacts were strictly journalistic and that several took place before the group was outlawed.

What has he said about his visa?

At his appeal hearing last December, Gleizes acknowledged reporting errors and conceded that he should have applied for an official journalist visa instead of entering on a tourist visa. He asked the court for mercy so he could rejoin his family, but the sentence was upheld.

What this means for travellers

The case underlines that entering Algeria on a tourist visa while carrying out journalistic work can lead to arrest and prosecution. Anyone travelling to Algeria for reporting should establish the correct visa category before departure, as Gleizes himself told the court he had failed to do.

What happens next?

RSF has organised a solidarity football match on November 11 to mark Gleizes's 500th day in detention, with former France internationals Robert Pirès and Vikash Dhorasoo and Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire among those set to take part. French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin raised the case during an official visit to Algiers in May, urging authorities on humanitarian grounds to let Gleizes return to his mother.

His imprisonment has coincided with severe friction between Paris and Algiers, which worsened after France recognised Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in July 2024. Diplomatic contacts have since resumed.