Algiers - Algeria has intensified a crackdown on an anti-government protest movement, targeting social media users in a bid to stop demonstrations resuming once coronavirus restrictions end.
Weekly protests rocked the North African country for more than a year and only stopped in March due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Authorities have made about 200 arrests linked to the protests since the country's coronavirus restrictions came into effect three months ago, according to Said Salhi, vice president of the Algerian League for the Defence of Human Rights.
Those accused include figures in the protest movement, political activists, journalists and people accused of mocking the regime online.
And although there were calls on social media to restart weekly protests on Friday, activists, lawyers, student associations and political parties warned of the health risks.
