Algerian members of parliament have passed a law
criminalising the broadcast of “fake news” that is deemed harmful to “public order and state security”.

The law, opposed by protesters and rights
activists, is part of reforms to the penal code. It was put before parliament,
debated and then approved in a morning session on Wednesday, according to state
TV.

The chamber was nearly empty due to the coronavirus
pandemic and social distancing measures.

A second bill penalising discrimination and hate
speech was passed in the same sitting after a short debate, state TV reported.

The move comes after Algeria’s anti-establishment
protest movement suspended its street rallies last month in a voluntary bid to
stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.

It also comes amid increasing repression of
opposition and media in the country during recent months.

Protesters began staging weekly demonstrations in
February 2019, after the ruling National Liberation Front announced that
Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Algeria’s longest-serving president, would seek a fifth
term in the office.

The demonstrations quickly forced Bouteflika, a
wheelchair-bound 82-year-old rarely seen in public since he suffered a stroke
in 2013, to step down, but people continued to gather every Friday for months
after his fall in a bid to force major institutional reform.

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