Overview

• Boualem Sansal was sentenced on March 27, 2025, to five years in prison and fined $3,735 for undermining Algeria's territorial integrity.
• The charges stem from comments made in a 2024 interview with a far-right French outlet, where Sansal criticized Algeria's borders with Morocco, a politically sensitive topic.
• French President Emmanuel Macron and global intellectuals have condemned the verdict, citing Sansal's fragile health due to cancer and calling for his release on humanitarian grounds.
• The case has further strained relations between Algeria and France, already tense over France's recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.
• Observers speculate that a presidential pardon may be possible during upcoming holidays, though no formal action has been announced.