Boualem Sansal. Image: Creative Commons, PEN International
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Macron Demands ‘Humanitarian Decisions From Algiers’
In a sharply intensifying appeal, the Franco-Algerian author Boualem Sansal has gained rapid international support and concern with Thursday’s news that—as Ephrant Livni writes for The New York Times—Sansal has been sentenced to five years in prison.Livni’s reporting indicates that Sansal, who has a diagnosis of cancer and is thought to be between 76 and 80 years old, is being held at the Kolea prison outside Algiers. His detention comes after months, she notes, “of pleas for his freedom from the French president, Emmanuel Macron. France was once Algeria’s colonial ruler” and offered the author no access to legal counsel, per his attorney in France, Francois Zimeray.
The Associated Press is reporting that Macron has said after a summit on Ukraine in Paris, ““I sincerely hope that, after this judgement, the highest Algerian authorities will take clear, humane and humanitarian decisions to restore his freedom, and allow him to become a free man once again and to take care of himself, as he is also fighting illness.
“And I know I can count on the good sense and humanity of the Algerian authorities to take such a decision.”
The Federation of European Publishers (FEP) was the first to reach Publishing Perspectives with a statement, its president, the Polish publisher Sonia Draga, writing in French and English for Brussels headquarters:
“We have been informed and are appalled by the condemnation of Boualem Sansal to 5 years in prison and a fine of 3500 euros.
Sonia Draga
“Boualem should be a free man; his only offense is to have spoken and written freely over all these years.
“He must be freed immediately. European Publishers call on the European institutions to reach to their Algerian counterparts to demand that he is released from prison and his sentence annulled”.
‘Boualem has been charged with undermining national unity, insulting an official body, undermining the national economy and possessing videos and publications that threaten national security and stability.
“According to the French press, Boualem said to the court, ‘My comments or writings were simply a personal opinion, and I have the right to do so like any Algerian citizen.’”
At PEN International, the organization’s president, Burhan Sönmez, says, “We are shocked by the court’s decision to convict Boualem Sansal on bogus charges, solely in retaliation for his legitimate exercise of his right to freedom of expression.
Burhan Sönmez
“No one should face persecution for peacefully expressing their views, even if the government disagrees or disapproves of them.
“Sansal’s conviction must be quashed, and he should be released immediately.”
PEN International understands the fine levied on Sansal to be 500,000 Algerian dinars (US$3,738).
PEN’s information adds that, “According to media sources, Sansal started a hunger strike in February in protest of his arbitrary imprisonment, further raising concerns about his health and well-being in custody, while reportedly suffering from cancer.
“In the space of one month since his initial arrest on 16 November last year, Sansal has been hospitalized on two separate occasions because of his fragile health, raising significant concerns for his well-being.
“Algerian authorities have reportedly pressured Sansal to change his French lawyer, who was denied an entry visa to Algeria, preventing him from representing Sansal before the court.”
And the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels, Germany’s publishers and booksellers association, has quickly released a statement—having been among the first to decry Sansal’s original detention at the border in November 2024.
“We are stunned and dismayed by the Algerian judiciary’s conviction of the writer and Peace Prize winner Boualem Sansal,” says Karin Schmidt-Friderichs, chair of the Association.
Karin Schmidt-Friderichs
“The conviction of an author for his peaceful expression of opinion is unacceptable and contradicts fundamental human rights principles.”
“Boualem Sansal, who was awarded the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade in 2011, was arrested upon arrival at Algiers airport in November 2024. He was accused of questioning the ‘right to exist of the Algerian nation” and its historical borders.’
“Boualem Sansal has always advocated for intercultural dialogue and the promotion of peace and understanding. The Börsenverein calls on the international community, especially the German Federal Government, the European Union, and the United Nations, to take a decisive stand for Boualem Sansal’s release and to take a clear stance against the Algerian government.”
The German Publishers and Booksellers Association, Merlin Verlag, and the cultural magazine Perlentaucher have launched an appeal calling for Boualem Sansal’s immediate release, which anyone interested can sign. The German Publishers and Booksellers Association’s Freedom of Expression Foundation is also running a fundraising campaign to financially support legal aid. All information can be found on the Peace Prize website at: Solidarity with Boualem Sansal.
More on the German market is here, more on the work of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels is here, and more on the freedom to write, read, and publish is here.