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Algerian police arrested Khaled Drareni, a leading journalist, on Friday evening and plans to charge him on Saturday with "attacking the integrity of the national territory", Reporters Without Borders, a press freedom group, said Saturday.

Drareni became famouse for his coverage of the protests which shook Algeria for most of last year, forcing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to resign in April 2019, before they were suspended over the coronavirus.

The justice ministry has not released a statement.

Drareni's arrest comes days after the jailing of another prominent opposition leader, Karim Tabou.

The authorities have also jailed many prominent figures including businessmen and senior officials or former senior officials associated with Bouteflika on corruption charges.