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| - Algerian police detained several people including journalists, among them an AFP photographer, during an attempted pro-democracy protest rally in the capital Algiers on Friday. Demonstrators were preparing to take part in the weekly Hirak movement protest when they were jostled and taken into custody by police in the city centre, according to an AFP journalist. AFP photographer Ryad Kramdi was detained in the working-class Bab El Oued neighbourhood for an identity check and was taken to a police station, a colleague said. Kramdi was unable to be reached during the afternoon. Other journalists and photographers were also reportedly detained, among them Khaled Drareni, correspondent for French-language TV5 Monde and press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), according to the CNLD prisoners' rights group. The group reported numerous people taken into custody across the country, from Hirak activists to opposition figures including Mohcine Belabbas, head of the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD). The interior ministry this week said that Hirak protest organisers would have to advise authorities of protests in advance, a move that comes amid mounting government pressure on the movement as elections approach. The largely leaderless and politically unstructured movement was launched in 2019 over president Abdelaziz Bouteflika's bid for a fifth term in office. The ailing autocrat was forced to step down weeks later, but the Hirak has continued its demonstrations, demanding a sweeping overhaul of a ruling system in place since Algeria's independence from France in 1962. Marches were suspended for around a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, but protesters have returned to the streets since February as the movement regains momentum. The Hirak has rejected early legislative elections scheduled for June 12, and human rights organisations have warned of increasing repression in the lead-up to the polls. The CNLD says over 70 people are currently imprisoned in connection with the Hirak movement or cases related to freedom of expression. ad-agr/lg/hkb
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