With coronavirus restrictions limiting its public activities, the Algerian protest movement Hirak has found itself under fresh attack, with many of its most vocal proponents jailed as part of a government campaign that rights groups, such as Amnesty International, have slammed as "unprecedented" within the country's recent history. 

From its outset in February of last year, the protests presented an unrelenting and unparalleled challenge to the very core of Algerian political power, the pouvoir, the mysterious cadre of military and state apparatchiks that encircle the presidency. 

Despite changes in government personnel, switches in policy and dramatic shifts in the state's tactics, the protests have maintained pressure upon the heart of government, with only the outbreak of the pandemic slowing the force of its march. 

While free speech within Algeria has never been a given, the recent banning of the French television channel M6 and the high-profile arrest of of independent Algerian journalist and Reporters without Borders (RSF) correspondent Khaled Drareni all point to a tightening of restrictions on press freedom and free expression in the North African country. Along with these two high-profile cases there is a growing list of journalists who have been imprisoned over their reporting or social media activity, often on charges as vague as “harming Algeria’s territorial integrity,” “insulting the president of the republic” or “inciting a gathering.”