By day, he writes for a pro-government newspaper. After work, he becomes El Mouhtarem, author of one of the most popular political blogs in Algeria.
Until now, El Mouhtarem, who keeps his real name secret to avoid retaliation by the authorities, and his readers have been free to comment on issues that few in the mainstream Algerian media would touch. While he has received anonymous death threats, there have been no attempts by the government to censor his blog, “Algérie-politique.”
A measure likely to be approved this month or in October, however, would bring Internet users under closer scrutiny, and bloggers like El Mouhtarem are nervous. The measure ostensibly aims at cyberterrorism and cybercrime, but critics say that it is vague and could be used to muzzle free speech.
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