French Algerian Novelist Detained in Algeria on Security Charges
Renowned French Algerian novelist Boualem Sansal has been detained in Algeria on national security charges, his French lawyer François Zimeray announced on Tuesday.
Sansal, 75, who obtained French citizenship earlier this year, was arrested on November 16 at Algiers airport upon returning from France. He faces charges of “attacking state security” under Algeria’s penal code, according to Zimeray’s statement to AFP.
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A prominent voice in francophone literature, Sansal gained recognition for works addressing Algeria’s civil war and political repression, including his acclaimed dystopian novel 2084: The End of the World. Inspired by George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, the book won the French Academy’s Grand Prix du Roman in 2015. While his works are not officially banned in Algeria, his criticism of the regime and a 2014 visit to Israel have made him a divisive figure.
Sansal’s outspoken criticism of authoritarianism and Islamism has earned him global acclaim but also sharp condemnation in Algeria. His detention has sparked international outrage, with Gallimard, his French publisher, calling for his “immediate release” and expressing “deep concern” over the arrest.
A petition spearheaded by fellow French Algerian writer Kamel Daoud and signed by prominent literary figures like Salman Rushdie and Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk, condemned Sansal’s detention. The signatories criticized the arrest as a symbol of Algeria’s escalating crackdown on freedom of expression under President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
Sansal’s arrest comes amid heightened diplomatic tensions between France and Algeria, worsened by French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent reaffirmation of support for Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara during his visit to Morocco last month.
