The arrest of Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal at Algiers airport, confirmed by official sources, raises questions. Is this a settling of scores? Is it because of his pro-Moroccan statements?
Currently in detention in Algeria for a week. His lawyer in France told BFM TV: “I was appointed by his publisher. I am told about a committal warrant that would have been issued, that he would be in custody. I do not see how this committal warrant could have been signed in the absence of a lawyer, I am told of a summons to the public prosecutor’s office. »
The Algerian press agency (APS) accused Sansal of having called into question “the existence, independence, history, sovereignty and borders of Algeria”, of having “denied the existence even of the Algerian Nation” and to have “links with parties hostile to Algeria”.
According to the Algerian site “Algérie 360”, “It is unlikely that Boualem Sansal’s statements in his recent interviews or his positions on the question of national unity will be considered a simple expression of freedom of opinion. » The same source specifies that “The articles of the Algerian Penal Code relating to attacks on state security and national unity seem particularly suited to this case” and warns of the seriousness of the accusations brought against him. ‘writer.
Boualem Sansal has currently been in detention in Algeria for a week. His lawyer in France told BFM TV: “I was appointed by his publisher. I am told about a committal warrant that would have been issued, that he would be in custody. I do not see how this committal warrant could have been signed in the absence of a lawyer, I am told of a summons to the public prosecutor’s office. »
According to Algerian government media, the arrest took place upon arrival at Algiers airport, without prior explanation.
On November 16, Boualem Sansal was arrested by the Algerian authorities after a week without news. His detention, confirmed this Friday, caused indignation and sadness in the literary world and within the French political class.
Winner of the Grand Prix de la francophonie of the Académie française in 2013 and the Grand Prix du roman of the Académie française in 2015, Boualem Sansal was arrested for his criticism of the Algerian regime.
Could his remarks, far from being anti-Moroccan, have played a role in his arrest in Algeria? The writer had in fact expressed disturbing opinions: “Morocco, you should know, is the oldest country in the world. Morocco has existed for 12 centuries, France has existed for 1000 years. It existed in its current form with a sultan. It is an old state which has always been very powerful, which colonized all of North Africa, almost as far as Egypt, which colonized Spain. It is a very powerful Empire which extended as far as Senegal. »
He also mentioned the history of the two countries: “When France colonized Algeria, the entire western part of Algeria was part of Morocco: Tlemcen, Oran and even as far as Mascara,” he said. recalled. According to him, during the colonization of Algeria, “France established itself as a protectorate in Morocco and thus decided, arbitrarily, to attach all of Eastern Morocco to Algeria, by drawing a border. » Statements which were enough to lead to his arrest, according to the French media, which report accusations of “attack on national integrity”.
Gallimard Editions demanded the immediate “release” of Boualem Sansal, after his arrest by the Algerian security services. The publisher expressed its concern in a statement, calling for his release.
For its part, the French Academy expressed its hope to see Boualem Sansal “released without delay”. The institution reacted following a column published on Sunday by around thirty writers who won its Grand Prix du roman in Le Figarocalling for “physical safeguarding” and “respect for the basic rights” of the writer.
