Algerian authorities have sentenced French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal to five years in prison for undermining the country’s territorial integrity, following controversial remarks about Algeria’s borders with Morocco.
Sansal was arrested in November at Algiers airport after an interview with a far-right French media outlet, in which he claimed that France unfairly granted Moroccan land to Algeria during its colonial rule. His statement, echoing a long-standing Moroccan claim, was deemed an attack on Algerian sovereignty.
A court in Dar El Beida handed down the verdict on Thursday, imposing the prison term and a fine of 500,000 Algerian dinars ($3,730). Prosecutors had initially sought a 10-year sentence for the novelist, whose works have remained available in Algeria despite his critical stance toward the government.
The case has further strained relations between Algeria and France, which have already been tense over migration policies and France’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. French President Emmanuel Macron has dismissed the accusations against Sansal as “not serious” and urged Algeria to release him, citing his fragile health due to cancer.
Sansal, speaking in court last week, insisted he had no intention of harming Algeria and was merely exercising his right to free expression. However, Algerian officials have framed the case as part of a broader geopolitical conflict, accusing the French far right of influencing diplomatic tensions in favor of Morocco.
