On a Monday evening in London, as the football world gathered to crown its best players, a quiet dedication passed through the room: a counter, a photograph, and a hashtag asking for the freedom of a journalist held far away. Christophe Gleizes, a 37-year-old reporter who went to Algeria to write about a football club in the Kabylie hills, now serves a seven-year sentence that the courts say rests on contacts they judged dangerous and that his defenders call the ordinary work of a reporter. The case sits where two old neighbours, bruised by recent quarrels, are slowly testing whether a door ca
Ballon d'Or ceremony spotlights French journalist Christophe Gleizes, jailed in Algeria on terrorism-support charges
French journalist Christophe Gleizes, 37, is serving a seven-year prison sentence in Algeria and has been detained for over a year, separated from his family.
"Not with France, but with his mother"
Mark
Why did a football awards night end up talking about a jailed reporter?
Mimi
Because he went to Algeria to cover a football club. The ceremony's organisers, France Football, dedicated the evening to him, and Thierry Henry and Kate Scott said so from the stage, with a day counter on screen.
Mark
What exactly was he convicted of?
Mimi
Supporting terrorism, and possessing publications deemed harmful to national security. The case rested on his contacts with a JSK official who was also associated with the MAK, which Algeria designated a terrorist group in 2021.
Luke
Two accounts of those contacts are on the table, and we should keep them separate. RSF says they were journalistic and some predated the ban. Prosecutors argued he went to commit a hostile act. The reporting here can't settle which is right.
Mark
He also admitted mistakes at his appeal, didn't he?
Mimi
He said he should have applied for a journalist visa instead of using a tourist visa, and he begged the court's mercy to be reunited with his family.
Luke
That's an admission about the visa and his reporting. It isn't an admission of the terrorism-related charge, and I'd be careful not to read it that way.
Mark
Does the diplomatic backdrop matter?
Mimi
It's context. He was arrested amid ambassador withdrawals and expulsions, and in May, as relations improved, Gérald Darmanin asked in Algiers for him to be reunited with his mother.
Luke
Context isn't cause, though. Darmanin said he believed President Tebboune would be receptive. That's his belief, and Algeria hasn't commented on the Ballon d'Or gesture or on a pardon.
Mark
What's next?
Mimi
RSF's solidarity match on 11 November, his 500th day in detention.
Le Pouls
- A counter on a London stage ticked past one year, three months and 27 days, reminding a glittering awards night that a French reporter remains behind bars in Algeria.
- Gleizes was convicted of supporting terrorism and possessing publications deemed harmful, while his press group insists his contacts were journalistic and some predated a banned movement's outlawing.
- Prosecutors argue he entered Algeria to commit a hostile act, and at appeal he admitted reporting mistakes and asked for mercy so he could reunite with family.
- Paris and Algiers are cautiously thawing, with French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin pressing for a reunion with his mother and expressing hope that Tebboune would listen.
- Algeria has stayed silent on the London dedication, and all eyes now turn to an RSF solidarity match on 11 November marking his 500th day in detention.
On a Monday evening in London, as the football world gathered to crown its best players, a quiet dedication passed through the room: a counter, a photograph, and a hashtag asking for the freedom of a journalist held far away. Christophe Gleizes, a 37-year-old reporter who went to Algeria to write about a football club in the Kabylie hills, now serves a seven-year sentence that the courts say rests on contacts they judged dangerous and that his defenders call the ordinary work of a reporter. The case sits where two old neighbours, bruised by recent quarrels, are slowly testing whether a door can reopen. Whether a pardon follows will show less about one man's guilt than about how the two countries choose to remember their shared and strained history.
On a large screen behind the stage in London on Monday evening, a counter ran beside a photograph and a hashtag, #FreeGleizes. It showed that Christophe Gleizes had been in jail for one year, three months and 27 days. As the Ballon d'Or ceremony began, its presenters, Kate Scott and Thierry Henry, dedicated the evening to him, a gesture that stood out in an event otherwise given over to celebration.
Gleizes, 37, is a French sports journalist who writes for So Foot and Society. He travelled to Algeria in May 2024 to report on Jeunesse Sportive de Kabylie, one of the country's best-known clubs, based in the mountainous Kabylie region where some people seek self-determination. Soon after, he was arrested. Authorities accused him of supporting terrorism and possessing publications deemed harmful to national security, focusing on his contacts with a JSK official linked to a movement Algeria had labelled a terrorist group.
Reporters Without Borders says those exchanges were journalistic and that some predated the group's outlawing. Prosecutors insisted he had come not to work but to commit a hostile act. At his appeal last December, Gleizes admitted he should have sought a journalist visa instead of entering on a tourist one, and he pleaded to be reunited with his family. The sentence stood.
His case unfolds against a backdrop of strained ties between Paris and Algiers, worsened by diplomatic expulsions and France's recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. Yet there are signs of softening. In May, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin visited Algiers and asked that Gleizes be allowed to return to his mother, expressing confidence that President Tebboune might agree.
Algeria has not responded to the London tribute. Meanwhile, RSF has called a solidarity football match for 11 November, marking his 500th day in detention, with former French internationals among the first names announced. Whether this moment becomes a pardon remains the open question.
On a large screen behind the stage in London on Monday evening, a counter ran beside a photograph and a hashtag, #FreeGleizes. It said Christophe Gleizes had been in jail for one year, three months and 27 days. The Ballon d'Or ceremony, run by France Football magazine, had just begun, and its presenters, British broadcaster Kate Scott and former Arsenal and France striker Thierry Henry, dedicated the evening to him.
Gleizes is a 37-year-old French sports journalist who contributes to the magazines So Foot and Society. He is serving a seven-year prison sentence in Algeria. In their opening words, Scott and Henry said the Ballon d'Or France Football family wanted to use the occasion to dedicate the ceremony to him. It was the first time in the awards' 70-year history that the event had been held in London. Harry Kane of England and Bayern Munich was named the world's top footballer of the year, and Alexia Putellas, the Spanish midfielder at London City, took the women's prize.
Gleizes travelled to Algeria in May 2024 to report on Jeunesse Sportive de Kabylie, known as JSK, one of the country's best-known football clubs. It is based in Tizi Ouzou, about 100km (62 miles) east of Algiers, in the mountainous Kabylie region. The area is mainly home to the Amazigh people, historically known as Berbers, and some people there want self-determination. Tizi Ouzou is also the base of the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie, or MAK, which Algeria designated a terrorist organisation in 2021.
The authorities accused Gleizes of supporting terrorism and of possessing publications deemed harmful to national security. The case centred on his contacts with a JSK official who was also associated with the MAK. Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which has campaigned for his release, says those exchanges took place in a journalistic context and that some of the contacts predated the group's outlawing. Prosecutors took the opposite view, arguing that he had not gone to Algeria to do journalistic work but to commit a hostile act.
At his appeal hearing last December, Gleizes acknowledged mistakes in his reporting. He said he should have applied for a journalist visa rather than entering on a tourist visa. "I beg your mercy so that I can be reunited with my family," he told the court. The sentence stood.
The case sits within a wider pattern of concern about prosecutions of writers and public figures in Algeria. Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal was sentenced to five years for undermining national security, then pardoned by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in 2025 after mediation by Germany's president. Gleizes was also arrested during a period of sharp diplomatic tension between Paris and Algiers, marked by the withdrawal of ambassadors and reciprocal expulsions of diplomats. Relations worsened further after France recognised Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in July 2024. Algeria backs the pro-independence Polisario Front, which seeks independence for the territory.
Ties had begun to improve by May, when French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin visited Algiers. He urged the authorities to let Gleizes be reunited "not with France, but with his mother", and said he believed Tebboune would be receptive to the request.
The Algerian authorities have not yet commented on the Ballon d'Or dedication, an event organised by France Football in partnership with Uefa. RSF has announced a solidarity football match for 11 November, which will mark Gleizes's 500th day in detention. Former France internationals Robert Pirès and Vikash Dhorasoo, along with Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire, are among the first participants named. Whether the thaw between the two countries leads to a pardon is the question to watch.
Citations marquantes
I beg your mercy so that I can be reunited with my family.— Christophe Gleizes, at his appeal hearing last December
The Ballon d'Or France Football family would like to take this opportunity to dedicate this ceremony to Christophe Gleizes.— Kate Scott and Thierry Henry, ceremony presenters
Envie de l'histoire complète ?
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Crime & Justice