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Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has granted a pardon to historian Mohamed Amine Belghit, who had been imprisoned for making comments that denied the existence of Algeria’s indigenous Amazigh culture.
The Amazigh, often referred to as Berbers, are native communities spread across North Africa whose history predates the Arab conquests of the seventh century.
Their language and cultural identity remain a sensitive and politically charged subject in Algeria.
In a statement released on Monday, December 15, the presidency said Tebboune had signed a decree granting Belghit a full pardon for the remaining portion of his prison sentence.
Belghit was initially handed a five-year jail term in July, but an appeals court reduced the sentence in October to three years, with two years suspended.
The conviction followed a televised interview in which he claimed that the Amazigh language was an “ideological project of Franco-Zionist origin” and asserted that Amazigh culture did not exist.
Authorities arrested Belghit in May, accusing him of undermining national unity, inciting hatred and insulting national symbols, according to prosecutors at the time.
A university academic, Belghit has long been a controversial figure in Algeria.
His public statements have repeatedly drawn criticism, with opponents accusing him of distorting history and displaying hostility towards the Amazigh population.
Algeria formally recognised Tamazight, the Amazigh language, as an official language in 2016. A year later, the Amazigh New Year, known as Yennayer, was designated a national public holiday, marking a significant step in acknowledging the country’s cultural diversity.
