Algeria Sentences Writer Boualem Sansal to Five Years in Prison
The Franco-Algerian author was convicted on charges of undermining state security, as international advocacy for his release intensifies and a potential pardon is speculated.
- Boualem Sansal, 80, was sentenced to five years in prison and fined 500,000 dinars by an Algerian court on March 27, 2025, following a trial criticized for procedural flaws.
- Sansal was charged with undermining state security and territorial integrity, linked to comments made in a far-right French magazine supporting Morocco's territorial claims over Western Algeria.
- The trial, lasting just 30 minutes, has drawn international criticism for its lack of due process, with Sansal defending himself without legal representation.
- French President Emmanuel Macron and global intellectuals have called for Sansal's release, with discussions of a possible presidential pardon by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune emerging as Ramadan concludes.
- Sansal's case has heightened tensions between Algeria and France, already strained over France's support for Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara.
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