Overview

• On June 24, the prosecutor sought 10 years in prison during Sansal’s appeal, up from his initial five-year sentence.
• The hearing concluded without his French lawyer, who was unable to attend after visa applications were refused.
• Sansal, aged 80 and diagnosed with prostate cancer, has been held since November following comments on Algeria’s colonial-era borders.
• He was first convicted in March and fined 500,000 dinars for “endangering national unity” after remarks about Morocco’s former territory.
• The July 1 verdict could either ease or exacerbate already strained diplomatic relations between Paris and Algiers.