Overview
- Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune granted a pardon at the request of German President Frank‑Walter Steinmeier, leading to Boualem Sansal’s release after nearly a year in detention.
- Despite telling supporters he hoped to reach France by Friday or Saturday, a source now says Sansal will remain in Berlin at least into early next week for medical examinations at a military hospital.
- Sansal had been sentenced to five years for “undermining national unity” over October 2024 remarks about territorial legacies involving Morocco, and his family had flagged concerns linked to prostate cancer treatment.
- From his hospital room in Berlin, he offered first comments describing isolation in custody and insisted he was in good spirits, saying he would not be “destroyed by a small year in prison.”
- French officials and allies frame the release as a chance to recalibrate ties with Algiers, even as other cases persist, including journalist Christophe Gleizes, whose appeal is scheduled for December 3.