Mohammed Boualem Benchicou (; born 1952 in

Miliana Miliana (in Berber: ⵎⵉⵍⵉⴰⵏⴰ, in Darija: مليانة) is an Algerian commune in the Aïn Defla province, serving as the capital of Miliana district approximately southwest of the Algerian capital, Algiers.r/sup>, which covers its ...

Aïn Defla Province Aïn Defla (, is a wilaya (''province'') in northern Algeria. It is located to the southwest of Algiers, the capital. Localities in Ain Delfa include Aïn Defla, Miliana, El Attaf, Djelida and Djendel. History The province was created from ...

) was the director and publisher of the

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

n newspaper '' Le Matin ()'', closed in August 2006.

Career

In 1989, he was one of the founders of the movement of Algerian journalists (MJA) a movement born during the opening of the media field. He then leads the team which relaunched ''Alger Républicain'', banned from publication in 1965. Benchicou left ''Alger Républicain'' in 1991 with

Saïd Mekbel Said Mekbel (March 25, 1940 at Béjaïa, Bejaia – December 3, 1994 at Algiers) was an Algerian journalist and satirist. Personal Born on March 25, 1940, at Béjaïa, Bejaia in a modest family. His father was a seaman. He was the eldest of ...

and Fodil Mezali and founded the daily newspaper ''Le Matin'' of opposition. In June 2004, he was sentenced to two years in prison for an infraction in money exchange regulation. In July, SIMPRAL, the Algiers-based government publisher, stopped printing ''Le Matin'' for its failure to pay a debt of 38 million dinars ($535,200) PEN (the international association of writers) describes the prison in which Benchicou was in as harsh and infested with lice and cockroaches; with 50 prisoners to a cell. Benchicou's health has reportedly deteriorated since his imprisonment which caused him to develop arthritis; consequently, he lost the ability to use his right hand for writing. Benchicou also published a book in 2004 called ''Bouteflika, an Algerian “fraud”'', believed to be the source of all his juridic problems.

Personal life

Mohamed Benchicou is the eldest of a family of seven children. He is married and father of three children, two girls and a boy.

Awards and honors

* 2006 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award

Bibliography

* ''Bouteflika, une imposture algérienne'' (Bouteflika an Algerian "Fake"), Le Matin Editions - Picollec, 2004 * ''Les geôles d’Alger'' (Prisons of Algiers), Inas - Riveneuve, 2007 * ''Je pardonnerai'', (I'll Forgive, Poems), Inas, 2008 * ''Journal d'un homme libre'', (A Freeman's Diaries) Auteur-Riveneuve, 2008 * ''Notre ami Bouteflika, de l'état rêvé à l'état scélérat'' (Our Friend Bouteflika), Riveneuve, 2010 * ''Le mensonge de Dieu'' (God's Lie), Michalon, 2011 * ''Le dernier soir du dictateur'' (Last Night of a Dictator), Riveneuve, 2011

External links

Personal website

Online Newspaper

References

1952 births Living people People from Miliana Algerian journalists Politics of Algeria Algerian prisoners and detainees 21st-century Algerian people {{Algeria-journalist-stub