Arrested in Algeria, Boualem Sansal “will see a prosecutor today”, according to his lawyer

The Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, arrested in Algeria “more than a week ago” in unclear conditions, “will see a prosecutor” during the day, announced Monday his lawyer François Zimeray, mandated by Gallimard editions for take part in his defense.

“What I know today, well what I think I know based on the information sent to me, is that he will be presented to the prosecution this afternoon,” explained François Zimeray on RTL.

“He will see a prosecutor today,” added the lawyer, specifying however that he had “no specific news” on the state or conditions of detention of the 75-year-old writer, in the fight against religious fundamentalism and authoritarianism.

“Until now, he has not had access to a defense. A lawyer should be appointed to him by the president of Algiers with whom I spoke yesterday,” continued Mr. Zimeray, considering it “very important that he either defended by an Algerian lawyer, and if possible a lawyer of his choice”, and calling for a “fair trial”.

Will Mr. Zimeray go there? “I don’t know and I don’t even know if it’s necessary,” he replied. We must first “be very vigilant with the other lawyers who will join (…) as to respect for the fundamental principles of law, such as Algeria has subscribed to in the international commitments ratified by this country”, a- he pointed out.

Asked what he expects from politicians and the French government, the lawyer judged that it was necessary to “avoid doing as much as possible at this stage”.

“Some wanted to make Boualem Sansal, and this arrest, the occasion of another irritant in the Franco-Algerian relationship. And the role of his defense today is obviously to do nothing that would in this sense”, insisted Mr. Zimeray.

“It is not only a Franco-Algerian dimension, it must challenge intellectuals from all over the world” and “it must also be an Algerian subject, treated under Algerian law, and which challenges Algerian society, which deserves better than that” , he argued.

On Friday, the Algerian government agency APS confirmed the “arrest” of the writer, without specifying a date.

According to several media, Boualem Sansal was arrested on November 16 at Algiers airport, coming from France.

These events take place in a tense diplomatic context between France and Algeria, after Paris’ support for the Moroccan autonomy plan for the disputed territory of Western Sahara at the end of July.

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