One of the main causes of this renewed turbulence is France's decision to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara last July. An announcement which provoked the indignation of the Algerian regime, expressing a “ great regret and their deep disapproval» faced with this decision, describing it as “unexpected, inappropriate and counterproductive ».
On July 26, 2024, the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a press release, in which barely veiled threats were hidden: “ The Algerian government will draw all the consequences that arise from this French decision and for which the French government alone assumes full and complete responsibility.»
Growing tensions
A few days later, France learned of the “ withdrawal with immediate effect » from the Algerian ambassador to France. On October 9, 2024, ActuaLitté announced the exclusion of Gallimard from the Algiers Book Fair. “ We have just received a letter which provides no explanation as to the reasons or reasons justifying this decision.», told us Antoine Gallimard. But, behind the scenes, rumors pointed to the publication of a particular work: Hourisby Kamel Daoud.
Even before receiving the Goncourt Prize, this novel was already at the heart of controversy. And for good reason, it relates the repercussions of the Algerian civil war of the 1990s, a period hidden in the official history of the country. Indeed, article 46 of the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation prohibits any public mention of this war, under penalty of sanctions.
A highly publicized controversy adds to these tensions: the Algerian Saâda Arbane accuses Kamel Daoud of having used her story without consent, via information transmitted by his psychiatrist wife, in violation of medical confidentiality.
Kamel Daoud victims of ” defamatory campaigns “
If she declares having filed a complaint last August, when the book was released, it is on November 16, 2024 that these accusations become public and official. That day, Saâda Arbane and her husband gave an interview to the Algerian channel One TV,in which she asserts that the novel tells its own story. Survivor of an attempted throat slitting by Islamists, she recognizes her cannula, her scars, her tattoos and her hair salon.
Its publisher Gallimard then denounced the “ violent defamatory campaigns orchestrated by certain media close to a regime whose nature is well known», towards the writer since the publication of the novel.
An unprecedented international mobilization
If Kamel Daoud did not respond to these accusations, he took a position on November 21 in a column addressed to the Figaroin which he supports the Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, arrested a few days earlier at Algiers airport.
This November 23, the entire literary sphere was agitated in a forum relayed by The Point . The Nobel Prize winners Annie Ernaux, Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio, Orhan Pamuk and Wole Soyinka, as well as Salman Rushdie, Peter Sloterdijk, Andreï Kourkov, Roberto Saviano, Giuliano da Empoli and Alaa el Aswany, requested his release, in a text written by Kamel Daoud: “ We cannot remain silent. Freedom, the right to culture and our lives, writers targeted by this terror, are at stake. I launch an urgent appeal for international solidarity: demand the immediate release of Boualem Sansal and all writers imprisoned for their ideas ».
On November 21, 2024, an online petition titled “ Free Boualem Sansal! » was also launched on change.org by Vivre LAREP, and has obtained, to date, 14,246 signatures.
A writer under threat for years
Boualem Sansal is not unknown to the Algerian authorities. His work, often critical of the regime, explores the themes of corruption, authoritarianism and religious excesses. Already in 2006, in a column published byLe Figaro he denounced the regime’s control over society: “ Algeria has become a laboratory of totalitarianism, where fear reigns supreme. » Since then, he has been regularly accused of damaging the image of his country.
Despite this constant pressure, Boualem Sansal continued to write and express himself freely, becoming an emblematic figure of intellectual resistance. According toThe World his arrest could be linked to his statements to the far-right mediaBorderswhere he supported the Moroccan thesis affirming that Moroccan territory would have been amputated for the benefit of Algeria under French colonization. The daily specifies that such a position would constitute a “red line» for Algiers, likely to lead to accusations «attack on national integrity» against the writer.
Still no news from Boualem Sansal?
The entourage of President Emmanuel Macron expressed, this Thursday, November 21, their “serious concern» faced with his disappearance, specifying that “State services are mobilized to clarify his situation“. And, a few days later, on Sunday November 24, Gallimard announced that it had entrusted the defense of the writer to Maître François Zimeray, of the Zimeray & Finelle Avocats law firm, an expert in human rights.
The latter, invited onRTLthis Monday, November 25, gave, for the first time, news of the author's situation: “The Algerian defense of Boualem Sansal is not constituted”,he declared. And continue“He will be presented to the prosecution this afternoon. […] It is very important that he is appointed by an Algerian lawyer, and if possible a lawyer of his choice. »
“We must remain very vigilant”
However, he specifies that he does not have “no precise information» about the conditions of detention or the current location of the writer. “It is essential to remain extremely vigilant regarding respect for fundamental rights, in accordance with the international commitments ratified by Algeria.»
READ – Did Algeria lock up Boualem Sansal?
Although he is unaware of the legal basis for the arrest and incarceration, the lawyer is convinced that it is linked to “theall of his work“. He mentions “his freedom of tone, his independence of mind and, of course, the criticisms he expressed thanks to this freedom».
Image credits: On the left Kamel Daoud, on the right Boualem Sansal / ActuaLitté, CC BY-SA 2.0
By Louella Boulland
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