Press freedom advocate, Reporters Without Borders, has called for the release of Algerian journalist Ihsane El-Kadi, who plain-clothed state agents arrested on Saturday. 

Mr El-Kadi is the director of Radio M and Maghreb Emergent, one of the country’s few independent news stations. 

According to Radio M, Mr El-Kadi was arrested when six agents from Algeria’s Directorate General of Internal Security searched Radio M and Maghr-b Emergent offices and confiscated devices and documents.

Reporters Without Borders tweeted that it “regrets these methods and calls for the release of the journalist and respect for the work of the media in the country.”

Radio M, an internet radio station, and Maghreb Emergent, its sister website, were regarded as Algeria’s remaining independent news providers. 

According to media reports, the arrest and search were part of authorities’ long-running intimidation and harassment campaign.