The “unfounded” detention in Algeria of the Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal “is simply unacceptable,” declared the head of French diplomacy, Jean-Noël Barrot, on Wednesday.
“Nothing in the activities of Boualem Sansal allows us to substantiate the accusations which have now landed him in prison” in Algeria, where the writer was arrested in mid-November, Mr. Barrot declared on FranceinfoTV, adding: “the detention of a French writer without basis is simply unacceptable.”
“State services are fully mobilized in Algiers as in Paris to monitor his situation and allow him to access consular protection,” Mr. Barrot also declared.
The Franco-Algerian writer was interviewed by the Algiers anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office and placed under a committal warrant, his lawyer François Zimeray announced on Tuesday.
Mr. Sansal, “who went to Algiers in confidence, is today placed in detention under article 87 bis of the Algerian penal code which punishes all attacks on state security”, according to Mr. Zimeray’s statement.
Boualem Sansal, who has criticized Algerian leaders on numerous occasions, was arrested in mid-November as he arrived in his native country from France.
The Algerian government agency APS confirmed on Friday, without specifying the date or for what reasons, the “arrest” at Algiers airport of the author of “2084: The End of the World”. According to several media, it took place on November 16.
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