Day of the Imprisoned Writer 2025
Take Action for Mohamed Tadjadit (Algeria)
Name: Mohamed Tadjadit
Occupation: Poet, activist
Situation: Imprisoned
#MohamedTadjadit #DayoftheImprisonedWriter
Algerian poet and activist Mohamed Tadjadit, known as “the poet of the Hirak”, is serving one year in prison and faces charges in two additional cases for his online posts. A leading voice of Algeria’s 2019 pro-democracy Hirak movement, he has endured years of harassment, arbitrary arrests, and imprisonment for his poetry and activism. PEN International calls on the Algerian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Mohamed Tadjadit and drop all charges against him, related to his peaceful expression.
How you can help:
1. Write a message of hope to Mohamed Tadjadit
2. Write to Algerian authorities and your diplomatic contacts
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PEN International urges the Algerian authorities to: • Release Mohamed Tadjadit immediately and unconditionally. • Drop all charges against him. •Stop prosecuting government critics for their peaceful expression, online or otherwise.
Send your appeals to:
President of the Republic of Algeria
Abdelmadjid Tebboune
Presidence de la Republique
Place Mohammed Seddik Benyahiya, El Mouradia, Alger 16000 Algérie
Fax: +213 (0) 21 69 15 95
Email: [email protected] and [email protected]
Website: https://el-mouradia.dz/ar/president/biography
Please also send a message to the Embassy of Algeria in your country. Please inform PEN International of any actions taken and any responses received.
3. Share her campaign on social media
Spread the word about Mohamed Tadjadit’s case on social media.
Use the sample messages below with the hashtags #MohamedTadjadit and #DayoftheImprisonedWriter, tagging @peninternational.bsky.social and @penmena.bsky.social (Bluesky), @peninternational (Instagram), and facebook.com/peninternational (Facebook).
Captions:
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#DayoftheImprisonedWriter: Mohamed Tadjadit, the poet of the Hirak, used words to call for freedom — and is now paying with his own. Since 2019, he has been arrested eight times and convicted on five occasions following unfair trials for his online posts. Tadjadit represents Algeria’s silenced generation.
Freedom of expression is not a crime.
PEN International urges the Algerian authorities to:
• Release Mohamed Tadjadit immediately and unconditionally.
• Drop all charges against him.
• Stop prosecuting government critics for their peaceful expression, online or otherwise. -
#DayoftheImprisonedWriter: Algerian poet #MohamedTadjadit — the voice of the Hirak movement — is in prison just for speaking truth to power. Join PEN International in demanding his immediate and unconditional release.
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#DayoftheImprisonedWriter: Poet. Activist. Voice of Algeria’s Hirak movement.
Mohamed Tadjadit used poetry to speak truth to power — and is now serving one year in prison and facing charges in two additional cases for his online posts.PEN International stands with him and calls on the Algerian authorities to release him immediately and drop all charges. No poet should be punished for their words.
#MohamedTadjadit
Visuals:
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Mohamed Tadjadit, born in 1994, is a poet and activist known for his powerful slam poetry performed during Algeria’s Hirak protest movement, which began in 2019 and led to the resignation of former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Through his art, Tadjadit gave voice to the aspirations of a new generation demanding freedom and democracy.
He has been repeatedly targeted by Algerian authorities for his poetry and activism, facing at least eight arrests and five convictions since 2019. In October 2022, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that Tajdadit's arrest and imprisonment between April 2021 and August 2022, alongside that of other four people, were arbitrary and a direct result of his peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of opinion and expression.
On 29 January 2024, Tadjadit was arrested at his home in Algiers and detained on vague counterterrorism charges, including “apology and encouragement of terrorist acts,” “using communication technologies to support terrorist organisations,” “incitement to an unarmed gathering,” and “exposing to the public eye publications likely to harm the national interest,” based solely on his online posts and private communications.
He was held in pre-trial detention for nine months before being provisionally released under a presidential pardon in October 2024. However, on 16 January 2025, he was arrested again for his online writings and criticism of the government and sentenced to five years in prison and a 200,000 dinar fine just four days later. His conviction was based on several bogus charges, including “compromising national unity,” “insulting a constituted body,” and “exposing to the public publications likely to harm the national interest.” On 22 May 2025, the Criminal Division of the Algiers Court upheld the sentence in principle but commuted it to one year’s imprisonment.
PEN International understands that Tadjadit is currently facing two additional criminal proceedings with similar charges in separate cases related to his online expression.
His case represents a disturbing escalation of Algeria’s campaign to silence dissenting voices and stifle artistic freedom.
PEN International calls on the Algerian government to immediately release Mohamed Tadjadit, drop all charges against him, and end its crackdown on freedom of expression in the country.
Share:
Thank you for supporting Mohamed Tadjadit. Please share his story on social media and urge others to stand with writers, poets, and artists imprisoned for speaking truth to power.
Note to Editors:
For further details contact Mina Thabet, Head of MENA Region at PEN International: [email protected]
• For media queries, please contact Sabrina Tucci, Communications and Campaigns Manager at PEN International: [email protected]