Sakharov Network

Salima Ghezali, the 1997 winner of the Sakharov Prize, was born near Algiers in 1958. In the 1980s she became involved in the Algerian women’s movement, inter alia as a founder member of “Women of Europe and the Maghreb” and as editor-in-chief of “NYSSA”, the women’s publication she herself had founded.

The women’s rights activist became a committed campaigner for human rights and democracy in Algeria. After 1994, as publisher of the weekly magazine “La Nation”, she increasingly focused on issues of censorship. Her articles constantly called for a peaceful and democratic solution to the crisis in Algeria, which has cost the lives of tens of thousands of people, including many journalists. As a result, she became a target for criticism from both the Algerian authorities and Islamic extremists.

The appearance in “Le Monde Diplomatique” of her report on the human rights situation in Algeria prompted the authorities to order the closure of her magazine in 1996. Salima Ghezali reacted by saying that “Drawing attention to the principles which form the foundations of our human society and exercising vigilance are the best means of ensuring that civilisation wins out over barbarism”.

On 25 April 1996, at a hearing on press freedom held by the European Parliament, Salima Ghezali described the fear and pressures to which journalists in Algeria are exposed if they seek to circumvent censorship and escape the murderous wrath of their opponents.

In 2002, shortly before publication of “La Nation” was to resume, she confirmed that the weekly magazine would continue to campaign for the opening up of Algeria to democracy in the future.

Salima Ghezali has been a Board member of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network since February 2005.