Daughters of Detained Writer Boualem Sansal Urge Macron to Intervene
The Franco-Algerian author, imprisoned in Algeria for five months, remains in poor health as his family and international supporters call for urgent action.
- Boualem Sansal, an 80-year-old Franco-Algerian writer, has been imprisoned in Algeria since November 2024 on charges related to his free expression.
- Sansal was sentenced to five years in prison and has appealed the verdict, but remains detained in deteriorating health conditions.
- His daughters, Nawal and Sabeha Sansal, published an open letter on April 15, 2025, asking French President Emmanuel Macron to pressure Algeria for his release.
- The letter highlights Sansal's lifelong advocacy for universalism and freedom of expression, framing his detention as an attack on intellectual and human rights.
- The case has intensified diplomatic tensions between France and Algeria, with growing calls from literary and human rights communities for Sansal's freedom.
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