A court in Chéraga, west of Algiers, sentenced journalist Abdelali Mezghiche on Sunday to three years in prison and a fine of 200,000 Algerian dinars (about US$1,500), the New York-based press freedom group Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported Monday.

CPJ says the case stems from posts on his Facebook page about public anger over the jailing of local figures in the southern city of Djanet.

Mezghiche was convicted on five misdemeanour counts, including publishing content deemed harmful to the national interest, inciting unarmed gatherings and spreading hate speech. A local journalist told CPJ he was convicted under Articles 96 and 100 of Algeria's penal code.

Prosecutors had asked for five years at an October 25 hearing. His defence team plans to appeal.

A presenter of cultural programs on Algeria's state-owned broadcaster since 2005, Mezghiche has also published three poetry collections, CPJ says. In February, CPJ said his Facebook page has more than 130,000 followers and that the posts had since been taken down.

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State security officers arrested him in Algiers on February 5, according to CPJ, and an investigating judge ordered him held in pretrial detention four days later. He has been in Kolea Prison in Tipaza province since.

A February alert on the Eu SEE website gave a different account. It said he was arrested on February 9 on charges that included disturbing public order, spreading false information and belonging to a subversive group.

CPJ regional director Sara Qudah called the sentence "a blatant weaponization of the Algerian judiciary to silence critical voices."

Emails CPJ sent to Algeria's justice and interior ministries asking for comment went unanswered. At least seven journalists are jailed in Algeria for their work, the group says.