Overview

• On July 10 the Paris Court of Appeal authorized Boualem Bensaïd’s release on August 1 pending his expulsion to Algeria
• Bensaïd was sentenced in 2002 to life imprisonment with a 22-year security period for coordinating six GIA bomb attacks in 1995 that killed eight people and injured 150
• French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Algeria is legally obliged to accept Bensaïd under bilateral agreements
• Algerian authorities have not issued the required laissez-passer consulaire exit permit, leaving Bensaïd in custody despite the court’s approval
• France and Algeria have suspended consular and judicial cooperation for over a year after reciprocal expulsions of diplomats