Algeria prosecution seeks 10 years jail for French-Algerian writer

Algeria’s prosecutor general sought 10 years in prison for novelist Boualem Sansal at an appeal hearing, doubling his current sentence, as reported by Arab News on June 24th. The French-Algerian writer was convicted on charges of allegedly undermining the country’s territorial integrity. 

Sansal, 80, was arrested on November 16th, 2024 at Algiers airport on arrival from Paris, after saying in an interview with a far-right French media outlet Frontières that France unfairly ceded Moroccan territory to Algeria during the 1830-1962 colonial era.

He was fined 500,000 Algerian dinars and sentenced to 5 years in prison on March 27th. The prosecution was under article 87 of the Algerian penal code for “undermining national unity”,”harming the national economy”, and “possessing media and publications threatening the country’s security and stability.” 

During the appeal on Tuesday, Sansal appeared before the judge without legal representation after authorities said he wishes to defend himself. 

“The Algerian Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and conscience”, he told the court during the 20-minute hearing. “This makes no sense.” After being questioned on some of his books, Sansal responded: “We are holding a trial over literature? Where are we headed?”

A verdict of his case is expected on July 1st. 

According to his relatives, Sansal has been undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, and many fear his health would deteriorate in prison.

French President Emmanuel Macron has urged his Algerian counterpart Abdelmadji Tebboune to show “mercy and humanity” and “give [Sansal] back his freedom and allow him to be treated for the disease he is fighting.”

In an open letter published in French publication Le Point last November, prominent writers including Salman Rushdie, Annie Ernaux and Wole Soyinka called for Sansal’s release, saying his tragic case reflected an “alarming reality in Algeria, where freedom of expression is only a memory in the face of repression, imprisonments and the surveillance of the whole of society”.

His conviction and sentence further frayed ties between Paris and Algiers, already strained by migration issues and Macron’s recognition last year of Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, which is claimed by the Algeria-backed pro-independence Polisario Front.

Arab News, The Guardian, Maghrebi.org, Le Point