The case of French sports journalist Christophe Gleizes, who is serving a seven-year prison term in Algeria, was placed in the spotlight at the Ballon d'Or ceremony on Monday evening.
The awards, organised by France Football magazine, took place in London. Presenters Kate Scott and Thierry Henry dedicated the evening to the 37-year-old reporter. A large screen behind them showed his photo, the hashtag "#FreeGleize" and a tally saying he had spent one year, three months and 27 days in jail.
"The Ballon d'Or France Football family would like to take this opportunity to dedicate this ceremony to Christophe Gleizes," said Scott, a British broadcaster, and Henry, the former Arsenal and France striker, as the event began.
The gala was held in London for the first time in its 70-year history. Harry Kane of England and Bayern Munich was named the world's top male footballer of the year, while Spanish midfielder Alexia Putellas of London City took the women's prize.
Gleizes, who writes for the French magazines So Foot and Society, travelled to Algeria in May 2024 to report on Jeunesse Sportive de Kabylie (JSK), one of the country's best-known clubs. The team is based in Tizi Ouzou, about 100km (62 miles) east of Algiers, in the mountainous Kabylie region, home mainly to the Amazigh people. The area is also a base of the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie (MAK), which Algeria designated a terrorist organisation in 2021.
Authorities accused him of supporting terrorism and of possessing publications considered harmful to national security. The case centred on his contacts with a JSK official who was also linked to the MAK. Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which campaigns for his release, says those exchanges happened in a journalistic context and that some contacts predated the group's ban. Prosecutors argued he went to Algeria not to work as a journalist but to commit a hostile act.
At his appeal hearing last December, Gleizes acknowledged errors in his reporting and said he should have sought a journalist visa instead of entering on a tourist visa. "I beg your mercy so that I can be reunited with my family," he told the court. Algerian authorities have not yet commented on the Ballon d'Or dedication. The award is organised by France Football in partnership with Uefa.
RSF has announced a solidarity football match for 11 November, which will mark his 500th day in detention. Former France internationals Robert Pires and Vikash Dhorasoo, along with Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire, are among the first announced participants.
The case comes amid wider concern over the prosecution of writers and public figures in Algeria. Franco-Algerian author Boualem Sansal was sentenced to five years for undermining national security, then pardoned by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in 2025 after mediation by Germany's president. Gleizes was arrested during a period of strained relations between Paris and Algiers, marked by ambassador withdrawals and tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats. Ties worsened after France recognised Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in July 2024, as Algeria backs the pro-independence Polisario Front.
As relations began to improve in May, French Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin visited Algiers and urged officials to let Gleizes reunite "not with France, but with his mother". He said he believed President Tebboune would be receptive to the request.
