Algeria censors papers for Bouteflika 'coma' reports

Algeria censored two newspapers for reporting that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has fallen into a coma three weeks after being hospitalised in Paris, fuelling speculation today about his health.
The Algiers public prosecutor ordered legal action against the newspaper's chief editor, Hichem Aboud, accusing him of "undermining state security".
The prosecutor said Aboud had published "unfounded" information according to which Bouteflika, who was hospitalised after suffering a mini-stroke last month, had returned to Algiers on Wednesday in a comatose state.
The 76-year-old president's condition, and the political future of the country, have since been the subject of intense discussion in Algeria, where presidential elections are due next year.

Aboud said the reports in his opposition French-language daily Mon Journal and Arabic Djaridati had referred to a "deterioration" in the president's health, citing French medical sources and relatives of the Algerian leader.
"According to our sources, the president departed for Algeria at 3:00 am (0630 IST) on Wednesday in a coma," said the former soldier.

"Both newspapers were seized on Saturday night at the presses," he told AFP.
The public prosecutor ordered legal action "following the biased comments by Hichem Aboud, carried by certain foreign media outlets, including France 24, on the state of the president's health," Algeria's national APS news agency reported.

It accused Aboud of "undermining state security, national unity, stability and the proper functioning of state institutions".
Aboud said the authorities demanded that two pages devoted to Bouteflika's health be removed from today's edition, adding that he rejects "self-censorship".
If the reports "were unfounded, it would have been better for the authorities to publish a statement from the president's personal physician to deny this information or, better still, broadcast images of Bouteflika".
The media has sharply criticised the lack of official communication about Bouteflika's health, already considered fragile before he suffered the mini-stroke in April.
The president was taken to an Algerian military hospital before being transferred to France on April 27 for further treatment.