He wants to believe in a positive outcome in the coming months. Emmanuel Daoud, the French lawyer for Christophe Gleizes, detained in Algeria for seven months, assured Thursday January 29 on franceinfo that there is “hope again” regarding the possible release of the journalist.
While remaining “cautious”, Emmanuel Daoud thinks that “we are getting closer to the possibilities of faster release”. He estimated that “the greater the mobilization of the broadest circles of the French population” – their fellow journalists, politicians, parliamentarians, football clubs, all strata of society -, the more serious the chances of obtaining a presidential pardon and a rapid release of Christophe Gleizes.
The lawyer hopes that the sporting calendar, with the Football World Cup from June 11 to July 19, 2026, can “promote a rapid release”. “I cannot imagine for a single moment that Christophe Gleizes is still detained in an Algerian prison, the day before or two days before the World Cup,” declared the lawyer, estimating that “the political weight and the sporting weight would be unbearable” for the Algerian national team, which will compete in the competition.
Professional players “should step up”
The lawyer participated in a concert at the Bataclan on Thursday evening, which concluded a day of mobilization for the sports journalist. Among the personalities present, former international player Vikash Dhorasoo called on “other important footballers, important names” to speak. “They are obviously free not to do so (…). You know which important players could bring a lot of weight to his fight and put pressure on the Algerian government to get out of there,” he said.
At the franceinfo microphone, Emmanuel Daoud also deplored a low mobilization of professional players. They are “also citizens, they should mobilize”, according to him. He also said he regretted that “Paris Saint-Germain, one of the most powerful clubs in Europe, and of which Christophe Gleizes is a fervent supporter, has done absolutely nothing”.
Christophe Gleizes was imprisoned in June 2025 after his conviction for “apology of terrorism” at first instance to seven years in prison, in the midst of the Franco-Algerian diplomatic crisis. At the beginning of December 2025, the Tizi-Ouzou Court of Appeal confirmed this sentence, while Me Emmanuel Daoud denounced a “totally empty file”. Algerian justice accuses him of contacts with people linked to the separatist movement MAK (Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylia), classified as terrorist in Algeria since 2021.
