Hichem Aboud

Hichem Aboud (هشام عبود, born June 15, 1955) is an Algerian journalist and political activist. Aboud was the founder and redactor-in-chief the "Mon Journal" (جريدتي) newspaper. The newspaper was published in both French and Arabic. In 2013, the journal was banned in Algeria after reporting on Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika's health. As of 2023, Aboud has over 613,000 subscribers on YouTube.

Early life
Hichem Aboud was born in a Chaoui family on June 15, 1955, in Bab El Oued, Algiers. Aboud enrolled in the Algerian People's National Army in 1975. Aboud received a Diploma from the Institute of Political Science and Information at Algiers 1 University in 1978.

Career
Aboud started his journalism career in 1977 as a freelance writer for Jeunesse Action and La République, He later became the Algiers bureau chief for El-Hadef, a journal specialized in sports.

In 1979, Aboud became the redactor-in-chief of El-Djeïch, the People's National Army's official publication. Aboud became Mohamed Betchine's chief of staff in 1987, at the time, Betchine was the director of the Délégation Générale à la Prévention et à la Sécurité, the Algerian military intelligence service. During his work as Betchine's chief of staff, Aboud still contributed to El-Hadef under a pseudonym. He left the army on October 16, 1992. He created an independent journal covering Eastern Algeria named El-Acil, the journal was banned in 1993 for its fierce criticism of the government. After moving to Constantine in 1994, Aboud launched another publication named Le Libre, the publication was banned after five months following criticism of the military and government. In 1995, Aboud became the Algiers correspondent for Le Quotidien de Paris, his accreditation was withdrawn by the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He was granted political asylum in France in 1997 where he released a book in 2002 named "The Mafia of Generals" (La Mafia des Généraux). In the book, which he created with the goal of "breaking the omerta", he denounces the Algerian government as a "political and military mafia". He created two magazines while in France, Racines d'Outre-Méd in 2004 and Repères Maghrébins in 2009. He renounced his political refugee status in 2011 and returned to Algeria.

He created a journal named "Mon Journal" (جريدتي) in 2011. The journal was banned in Algeria after a story was published about Abdelaziz Bouteflika's coma and hospitalisation in France. Aboud was banned from exiting Algerian territory by a judge after being found guilty of "undermining national security, territorial integrity and the proper functioning of state institutions".

He fled to France through Tunisia on August 10, 2013. He is currently living in France under a ten-year resident card. He created a Swiss-based TV channel in 2018 named Amel TV, the channel broadcast from France through IPTV and Satellite, Amel TV went bankrupt the same year due to lack of funding. He created a YouTube channel named "Aboud Hichem TV" on May 10, 2018.

In February 2020, Aboud was sentenced in absentia to 10 years in prison by a court in Tébessa for "illegal immigration" on charges relating to his 2013 escape to France. In April 2021, Aboud was sentenced to seven years in prison by a courtroom in Chéraga for "disclosing confidential information" for reporting on Khaled Nezzar and his arrest warrant in Switzerland for crimes against humanity. A court in Bir Mourad Raïs issued an arrest warrant against Aboud for charges relating to his alleged involvement in the Rachad movement, which the Algerian government named a terrorist group. An international arrest warrant was issued later that year, however, France has refused to extradite him to Algeria.

The charges against Aboud caused protest in Algeria, where protestors repeatedly chanted that "Hicham Aboud, [is a] free journalist" (هشام عبود صحفي حر). His name was published on the Algerian government's national list of terrorist entities in February 2022, the list was taken offline from their website the next day. Aboud denies all of these accusations.

In 2022, Aboud alleged that he was the victim of an assassination plot in Brussels, Aboud reportedly pressed charges against people he believes were responsible in the plot.