Arrest of Boualem Sansal in Algeria: “There was no appearance”, “we will know more” this Tuesday according to his lawyer

“There was no appearance today”declared on BFMTV Me Zimeray who was nevertheless counting on an audience in the afternoon. “We will know more tomorrow”he added to the same microphone, explaining that he received “conflicting information”. The lawyer had indicated on RTL, earlier in the day, that he did not “no specific news” on the state or conditions of detention of the 75-year-old writer, in the fight against religious fundamentalism and authoritarianism. “The best way to confirm what he says is to keep him in prison. So, if Algeria is not a dictatorship, release him”launched Me Zimeray on BFMTV, estimating that “the risk of life imprisonment is real for (the) type of offense” who would be accused of it.

According to Le Monde, the Algerian authorities could have taken badly the statements of Mr. Sansal to the French media Frontières, reputed to be far-right, which take up the Moroccan position according to which the territory of the country would have been truncated under French colonization for the benefit of the 'Algeria. It would be a “red line” for Algiers which could result in the author being accused of“attack on national integrity”.

“I am impatiently waiting for an Algerian defense team of colleagues, with whom I can get in touch, to be formed, and that is why I am in contact with the President of the Bar of Algiers”also declared Me Zimeray.

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

Tense diplomatic context

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

Also on Monday, the author received the support of the French Academy, which hopes to see him “released without delay”and the Overseas Academy of Sciences which “demands that he immediately regain his freedom of movement and expression”.

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.