There is concern in human rights circles about the fate of French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who was arrested by the Algerian authorities on November 16, 2024, at Algiers airport immediately after his arrival from France.
The French newspaper Le Monde reported that Sansal, 75 years old, made statements to the right-wing magazine Frontier in which he considered that French colonialism had seized Moroccan lands for the benefit of Algeria. These statements are considered “sensitive” to the Algerian regime, which is hostile to Morocco.
The French publishing house Gallimard expressed its deep concern about Sansal’s arrest and called for his immediate release. French President Emmanuel Macron also expressed his deep concern about the writer’s disappearance, noting that “state agencies are on alert to uncover the circumstances of his situation.”
The publishing house wrote in a statement, “Gallimard expresses its deep concern after the arrest of the writer by the Algerian security services and calls for his immediate release.” Several media outlets, including the French magazine Marianne, reported that the 75-year-old writer, known for his stances denouncing religious extremism and tyranny, was arrested on Saturday, November 16, 2024, at Algiers airport, coming from France.
The publishing house “Gallimard” was banned from participating in the Algiers International Book Fair during the current month of November 2024.
The Algerian government news agency also reported “Sansal’s arrest at Algiers Airport,” without mentioning any other official information about his fate in light of the tense relations between Paris and Algeria.
A number of French political leaders expressed their concern, most notably former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who considered that the writer “particularly embodies” the call for reason, freedom, and humanity against censorship, corruption, and Islamism.”
For his part, Algerian writer Yasmina Khadra described Sansal’s arrest as “disturbing,” stressing that “the intellectual’s place is around a round table, in a session to discuss ideas, not in prison.”
French-Algerian writer Kamal Daoud denounced the arrest of his compatriot Sansal.
Yesterday, Friday, the official Algerian News Agency responded by criticizing France for defending “a denier who questions Algeria’s existence, independence, history, sovereignty and borders,” describing the writer as “a puppet of the anti-Algerian revisionist movement.”
It should be noted that Boualem Sansal is considered one of the prominent names in contemporary French-speaking literature, and is known for his committed writings for democracy, and for his sometimes acerbic style.
