While a window seemed to open for the release of the Franco-Algerian novelist Boualem Sansal, arrested last November 16 in Algiers, the Algerian head of state, Abdelmadjid Tebboune sounded the charge against France on December 29 and described the man of letters as an “imposter who does not know his identity”. Nothing is certain for the liberation of the writer.
More than 2,400 detainees released by the Algerian regime, but especially not him. And ultimately, perhaps, Algiers only released such a large number of prisoners so as not to release its currently most famous inmate: the novelist Boualem Sansal.
His arrest and subsequent incarceration upon his arrival at Algiers airport outraged defenders of freedom of expression. A few weeks ago, Marianne revealed her arrest by the Algerian authorities on November 16. Placed in detention, the 80-year-old novelist, ill, alternates between stays at Mustapha hospital in Sidi M'Hamed, near Algiers, and prison.
First official reaction
The press release published on Christmas Day had therefore revived hope around his release. The Algerian presidency announced that Head of State Abdelmadjid Tebboune was about to grant 2,471 detainees a presidential pardon. “He also decided on calming measures for the benefit of eight detainees in pre-trial detention or awaiting trial (…)”, we could still read. Boualem Sansal not having been convicted, he was not eligible for pardon but entered into this procedure.
But the supporters of Boualem Sansal could be at a loss. This Sunday, December 29, Abdelmadjid Tebboune reacted publicly, for the first time, to the arrest of the Franco-Algerian. In front of Parliament, the Algerian president attacked the 80-year-old man. The diatribe is violent: “Here is an imposter whose identity and father are unknown, who dares to say that part of Algeria was the property of another country. » The author of Barbarian Oath (Gallimard, 1999) pays in particular for the historic border conflicts between Morocco and Algeria. In these circumstances, it is difficult to believe that the man of letters is one of the prisoners affected by this “appeasement measure”.
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To this day, Boualem Sansal remains a prisoner, still risking life imprisonment, prosecuted under article 87 bis of the Algerian Penal Code, used by the government to bully opposition intellectuals and political activists. The text represses, among other things, actions “aiming state security, territorial integrity, stability and the normal functioning of institutions”.
Already on December 11, his request for release was rejected by the indictment chamber of the Algiers Court of Appeal. His French lawyer, Maître François Zimeray, is struggling to obtain a visa to see his client.
Variable geometry support
In France, several town halls have decided to display the portrait of Boualem Sansal on the pediment of the town hall. This is the case, for example, in Nice (Alpes-Maritimes), Valence (Drôme), or even the town hall of the 9th arrondissement in Paris.
On December 16, a large evening of support for the writer Boualem Sansal was organized by the Political and parliamentary review, Marianne, The PointEditions du Cerf, Gallimard, the Laboratoire de la République and the Comité Laïcité République. The International Committee to Support Boualem Sansal, author of a widely shared appeal, is working for his release.
But the support given to the writer is unfortunately not unanimous. Thus, Algiers' relays of influence in France stood out for their discretion or their offensive reactions.
READ ALSO: “People of peace must unite against Sansal”: Karim Zéribi, Samia Ghali… who are the relays from Algiers to France?
A part of the political class classified on the left and personalities from the academic community in particular preferred to emphasize the real or supposed positions of the novelist, going so far as to bring charges of intent against him rather than denouncing the novelist's situation. Franco-Algerian who became a prisoner of conscience.
The Algerian media controlled by the government did not hesitate to repeat their statements in articles against Boualem Sansal. Closely linked to the former regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, Algeria is increasingly isolated diplomatically. Trade agreements with the European Union, Algeria's first partner, are due to resume in January 2025.
