Overview

• The appeals court in Algiers declined to extend Sansal’s sentence to 10 years, confirming the original five-year term imposed in March.
• Sansal, 80, faces a final opportunity to challenge the verdict with an eight-day window to file an appeal to Algeria’s supreme court.
• Advocates cite his prostate cancer treatment and constitutional guarantees of free expression as grounds for clemency ahead of Independence Day.
• French leaders including President Macron and Prime Minister Bayrou have urged President Tebboune to grant mercy, linking the case to EU-Algeria cooperation on human rights.
• The verdict has deepened diplomatic strains over colonial border debates and freedom of speech tensions between Paris and Algiers.