French journalist Christophe Gleizes marks 500 days in Algerian prison, as loved ones urge presidential pardon

French football journalist Christophe Gleizes has now spent 500 days behind bars, after he was arrested by Algerian authorities in May 2024 and subsequently handed a seven-year prison sentence. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT "Christophe is a sports journalist who found himself caught up in a complex diplomatic situation that goes far beyond his sports reporting. How can it be that writing about football becomes a crime?", childhood friend Pierre de La Saussay told Euronews. "His release rests on whether Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune will hand him a pardon", said de La Saussay. Gleizes, a reporter for French magazines So Foot and Society, was sentenced to seven years in June 2025 for "glorifying terrorism" and possessing "publications intended for propaganda that harms national interests." His conviction was upheld following an appeal that December. Gleizes' case has drawn widespread condemnation across the sporting community, with prominent figures rallying behind him. Football legend Zinédine Zidane pledged his support, saying he would stand by the journalist "as a parent" during a press conference in July. Meanwhile, on the eve of the 2026 World Cup, FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced that an empty seat had been reserved for Gleizes, describing him as the only sports journalist imprisoned worldwide. The journalist's lawyers have consistently maintained his innocence, arguing that he was simply carrying out his duties as a journalist. French authorities, meanwhile, have repeatedly expressed concern over his conviction and called for his release. According to de La Saussay, Gleizes has been treated respectfully by prison staff, while his family has been able to visit him approximately once every three months, depending on authorities' sporadic approval of their visa applications. What is Gleizes accused of? Among the accusations levelled against Gleizes is that he travelled to Algeria as a tourist, rather than with a work permit "He feared, as is the case in most .situations, that he wouldn't be granted one. He admitted this during his trial", Director of Advocacy and Support at media freedom NGO Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF) Antoine Bernard told Euronews. The charges against him are also tied to his contacts with an official from the Jeunesse sportive de Kabylie (JSK) football club, based in the northeastern Kabylia region. The official in question was a member of the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie (MAK), designated as a terrorist organisation by Algerian authorities in 2021. However, according to RSF, the evidence gathered during the investigation showed that most of Gleizes' contacts with the official dated back to 2015 and 2017, before the MAK received this designation. Their only exchange in 2024 concerned preparations for his report on the club. His lawyers have argued that the investigation uncovered no material evidence of terrorist propaganda or support for the movement. "He has been a journalist since the age of fifteen, and it is easily verifiable that he has never advocated terrorism", said Bernard, who argued that a review of Gleizes' journalistic career did not reveal any evidence of propaganda or activities directed against Algeria either. "The key word in this case is 'emptiness.' Why, under these circumstances, has Christophe Gleizes, a journalist, been imprisoned for 500 days?", asked Bernard. Caught in a diplomatic standoff Diplomatic relations between France and Algeria soured in 2024 following Paris' recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in July, followed by the arrest of Boualem Sansal in November. Algeria has been without an ambassador in Paris since July 2024, after it recalled its diplomatic representative. Visa restrictions have also emerged as a major source of friction between Paris and Algiers. Relations have shown signs of improvement over the course of 2025, with a series of high-level visits aimed at restoring security, judicial and migration cooperation. Nevertheless, Gleizes' detention remains a key point of tension.