Algeria frees French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal for transfer to Germany
Algeria has pardoned French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal after a request from Germany, to where he will be transferred for medical treatment after a year in detention, it was announced Wednesday.
Issued on: 13/11/2025 RFI
French Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, now 80 but pictured here in 2015, was suffering from prostate cancer in an Algerian jail, according to his family, and will now be treated in Germany. © JOEL SAGET / AFP
After German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Monday urged Algeria to free the 81-year-old, "the president of the republic decided to respond positively", the Algerian presidency said.
The statement said Germany would take charge of the transfer and treatment of Sansal, who has prostate cancer, according to his family.
Sansal was given a five-year jail term in March, accused of undermining Algeria's territorial integrity after he told a far-right French outlet last year that France had unjustly transferred Moroccan territory to Algeria during the 1830 to 1962 colonial period.
France 'concerned' over disappearance of writer Boualem Sansal in Algeria
Algeria views those ideas - which align with longstanding Moroccan territorial claims - as a challenge to its sovereignty.
He was arrested in November 2014 at Algiers airport. Because he did not appeal March's ruling, he was eligible for a presidential pardon.
Steinmeier urged Algeria to make a humanitarian gesture "given Sansal's advanced age and fragile health condition" and said Germany would take charge of his "relocation to Germany and subsequent medical care".
'Mercy and humanity'
French President Emmanuel Macron had also urged Tebboune to show "mercy and humanity" by releasing the author.
Sansal's daughter Sabeha Sansal, 51, told Ffrench news agency AFP by telephone from her home in the Czech Republic of her relief.
"I was a little pessimistic because he is sick, he is old, and he could have died there," she said. "I hope we will see each other soon."
A prize-winning figure in North African modern francophone literature, Sansal is known for his criticism of Algerian authorities as well as of Islamists.
He acquired French nationality in 2024.
Appearing in court without legal counsel on June 24, Sansal had said the case against him "makes no sense" as "the Algerian constitution guarantees freedom of expression and conscience".
When questioned about his writings, Sansal asked: "Are we holding a trial over literature? Where are we headed?"
French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal sentenced to five years in prison
His case has become a cause celebre in France, but his past support for Israel and his 2014 visit there have made him largely unpopular in Algeria.
The case has also become entangled in the diplomatic crisis between Paris and Algiers, which has led to the expulsion of officials on both sides, the recall of ambassadors and restrictions on holders of diplomatic visas.
Another point of contention was the sentencing to seven years in prison of French sportswriter Christophe Gleizes in Algiers on accusations of attempting to interview a member of the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie (MAK), designated a terrorist organisation by Algeria in 2021.
Both Sansal and Gleizes's prosecution came amid the latest rise in tensions between Paris and Algiers, triggered in July 2024 when Macron backed Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara, where Algeria backs the pro-independence Polisario Front.
Civil servant turned novelist
An economist by training, Sansal worked as a senior civil servant in his native Algeria, with his first novel appearing in 1999.
"The Barbarians' Oath" dealt with the rise of fundamentalist Islam in Algeria and was published in the midst of the country's civil war which left some 200,000 people dead according to official figures.
He was fired from his post in the industry ministry in 2003 for his opposition to the government but continued publishing.
Algeria court upholds writer Boualem Sansal's five-year jail term
His 2008 work "The German Mujahid" was censored in Algeria for drawing parallels between Islamism and Nazism.
He has received several international prizes for his work, including in France and Germany.
In recent years Germany has offered refuge to several high-profile prisoners from other countries.
The late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was treated at Berlin's Charite hospital after being poisoned in August 2020.
Last year Germany welcomed several other high-profile Russian dissidents as part of a historic prisoner swap with Moscow.
(with newswires)
After German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Monday urged Algeria to free the 81-year-old, "the president of the republic decided to respond positively", the Algerian presidency said.
The statement said Germany would take charge of the transfer and treatment of Sansal, who has prostate cancer, according to his family.
Sansal was given a five-year jail term in March, accused of undermining Algeria's territorial integrity after he told a far-right French outlet last year that France had unjustly transferred Moroccan territory to Algeria during the 1830 to 1962 colonial period.
France 'concerned' over disappearance of writer Boualem Sansal in Algeria
Algeria views those ideas - which align with longstanding Moroccan territorial claims - as a challenge to its sovereignty.
He was arrested in November 2014 at Algiers airport. Because he did not appeal March's ruling, he was eligible for a presidential pardon.
Steinmeier urged Algeria to make a humanitarian gesture "given Sansal's advanced age and fragile health condition" and said Germany would take charge of his "relocation to Germany and subsequent medical care".
'Mercy and humanity'
French President Emmanuel Macron had also urged Tebboune to show "mercy and humanity" by releasing the author.
Sansal's daughter Sabeha Sansal, 51, told Ffrench news agency AFP by telephone from her home in the Czech Republic of her relief.
"I was a little pessimistic because he is sick, he is old, and he could have died there," she said. "I hope we will see each other soon."
A prize-winning figure in North African modern francophone literature, Sansal is known for his criticism of Algerian authorities as well as of Islamists.
He acquired French nationality in 2024.
Appearing in court without legal counsel on June 24, Sansal had said the case against him "makes no sense" as "the Algerian constitution guarantees freedom of expression and conscience".
When questioned about his writings, Sansal asked: "Are we holding a trial over literature? Where are we headed?"
French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal sentenced to five years in prison
His case has become a cause celebre in France, but his past support for Israel and his 2014 visit there have made him largely unpopular in Algeria.
The case has also become entangled in the diplomatic crisis between Paris and Algiers, which has led to the expulsion of officials on both sides, the recall of ambassadors and restrictions on holders of diplomatic visas.
Another point of contention was the sentencing to seven years in prison of French sportswriter Christophe Gleizes in Algiers on accusations of attempting to interview a member of the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie (MAK), designated a terrorist organisation by Algeria in 2021.
Both Sansal and Gleizes's prosecution came amid the latest rise in tensions between Paris and Algiers, triggered in July 2024 when Macron backed Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara, where Algeria backs the pro-independence Polisario Front.
Civil servant turned novelist
An economist by training, Sansal worked as a senior civil servant in his native Algeria, with his first novel appearing in 1999.
"The Barbarians' Oath" dealt with the rise of fundamentalist Islam in Algeria and was published in the midst of the country's civil war which left some 200,000 people dead according to official figures.
He was fired from his post in the industry ministry in 2003 for his opposition to the government but continued publishing.
Algeria court upholds writer Boualem Sansal's five-year jail term
His 2008 work "The German Mujahid" was censored in Algeria for drawing parallels between Islamism and Nazism.
He has received several international prizes for his work, including in France and Germany.
In recent years Germany has offered refuge to several high-profile prisoners from other countries.
The late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was treated at Berlin's Charite hospital after being poisoned in August 2020.
Last year Germany welcomed several other high-profile Russian dissidents as part of a historic prisoner swap with Moscow.
(with newswires)
Algeria pardons French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal
Algeria’s president on Wednesday granted a humanitarian pardon to French-Algerian novelist Boualem Sansal following a German request for his release. The 81-year-old writer, whose year-long imprisonment sparked widespread criticism, arrived in Berlin late Wednesday for medical treatment.
Issued on: 12/11/2025 -
By: FRANCE 24
French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal was granted a humanitarian pardon, the Algerian presidential office said in a statement on Wednesday.
Sansal, 81, was arrested on November 16, 2024, in Algiers and sentenced on appeal in July 2025 to five years in prison for comments deemed harmful to national unity.
His pardon came after German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier urged Algeria to free Sansal. "The president of the republic decided to respond positively to the request of the esteemed president of the friendly Federal Republic of Germany", said the Algerian presidential statement.
READ MOREFrench-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal won't appeal sentence, hopes for pardon
Steinmeier thanked Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in a statement for the "humanitarian gesture" that "demonstrates the quality of the relations and trust between Germany and Algeria".
Hours after the pardon was announced, Sansal arrived in Berlin, according to the German presidential office.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday thanked his counterparts in Algiers and Berlin for Sansal's release on humanitarian grounds.
Macron, while visiting the southern city of Toulouse, said he had spoken by phone with Steinmeier "to express my deep gratitude for Germany's good offices", after Berlin requested and obtained Boualem Sansal's pardon.
"I acknowledge this gesture of humanity from President Tebboune and thank him for it," he said of the Algerian leader, adding that he remained "available to discuss with him all matters of interest to our two countries".
Prior to the pardon, Macron had called on Tebboune to show "mercy and humanity" by releasing the author.
READ MOREMacron urges 'mercy' for jailed writer Sansal in call with Algeria's Tebboune
Sansal is known for his criticism of Algerian authorities as well as of Islamists. He was arrested in November after saying, in an interview with a far-right French media outlet, that France unfairly ceded Moroccan territory to Algeria during the colonial era.
His statement, which echoed a long-standing Moroccan claim, was viewed by Algeria as an affront to its national sovereignty.
The author's arrest in Algiers deepened a diplomatic rift with France, which analysts have said is the worst the two countries have seen in years.
'I hope we will see each other soon'
Sansal's daughter Sabeha Sansal, 51, expressed her relief over the decision in a phone call from her home in the Czech Republic.
"I was a little pessimistic because he is sick, he is old, and he could have died there," she said. "I hope we will see each other soon."
A prize-winning figure in North African modern francophone literature, Sansal acquired French nationality in 2024.
Appearing in court without legal counsel on June 24, Sansal had said the case against him "makes no sense" as "the Algerian constitution guarantees freedom of expression and conscience".
When questioned about his writings, Sansal asked: "Are we holding a trial over literature? Where are we headed?"
His case has become a cause celebre in France, but his past support for Israel and his 2014 visit there have made him largely unpopular in Algeria.
The case has also become entangled in the diplomatic crisis between Paris and Algiers, which has led to the expulsion of officials on both sides, the recall of ambassadors and restrictions on holders of diplomatic visas.
READ MORE'Insult to injury': What’s behind the rising tensions between France and Algeria?
Another point of contention was the sentencing to seven years in prison of French sportswriter Christophe Gleizes in Algiers on accusations of attempting to interview a member of the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie (MAK), designated a terrorist organisation by Algeria in 2021.
Both Sansal and Gleizes's prosecution came amid the latest rise in tensions between Paris and Algiers, triggered in July 2024 when Macron backed Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara, where Algeria backs the pro-independence Polisario Front.
Civil servant turned novelist
An economist by training, Sansal worked as a senior civil servant in his native Algeria, with his first novel appearing in 1999.
"The Barbarians' Oath" dealt with the rise of fundamentalist Islam in Algeria and was published in the midst of the country's civil war which left some 200,000 people dead according to official figures.
He was fired from his post in the industry ministry in 2003 for his opposition to the government but continued publishing.
His 2008 work "The German Mujahid" was censored in Algeria for drawing parallels between Islamism and Nazism.
He has received several international prizes for his work, including in France and Germany.
In recent years Germany has offered refuge to several high-profile prisoners from other countries.
The late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was treated at Berlin's Charite hospital after being poisoned in August 2020.
Last year Germany welcomed several other high-profile Russian dissidents as part of a historic prisoner swap with Moscow.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
Algeria’s president on Wednesday granted a humanitarian pardon to French-Algerian novelist Boualem Sansal following a German request for his release. The 81-year-old writer, whose year-long imprisonment sparked widespread criticism, arrived in Berlin late Wednesday for medical treatment.
Issued on: 12/11/2025 -
By: FRANCE 24
Video by: Morgan AYRE
French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal was granted a humanitarian pardon, the Algerian presidential office said in a statement on Wednesday.
Sansal, 81, was arrested on November 16, 2024, in Algiers and sentenced on appeal in July 2025 to five years in prison for comments deemed harmful to national unity.
His pardon came after German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier urged Algeria to free Sansal. "The president of the republic decided to respond positively to the request of the esteemed president of the friendly Federal Republic of Germany", said the Algerian presidential statement.
READ MOREFrench-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal won't appeal sentence, hopes for pardon
Steinmeier thanked Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in a statement for the "humanitarian gesture" that "demonstrates the quality of the relations and trust between Germany and Algeria".
Hours after the pardon was announced, Sansal arrived in Berlin, according to the German presidential office.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday thanked his counterparts in Algiers and Berlin for Sansal's release on humanitarian grounds.
Macron, while visiting the southern city of Toulouse, said he had spoken by phone with Steinmeier "to express my deep gratitude for Germany's good offices", after Berlin requested and obtained Boualem Sansal's pardon.
"I acknowledge this gesture of humanity from President Tebboune and thank him for it," he said of the Algerian leader, adding that he remained "available to discuss with him all matters of interest to our two countries".
Prior to the pardon, Macron had called on Tebboune to show "mercy and humanity" by releasing the author.
READ MOREMacron urges 'mercy' for jailed writer Sansal in call with Algeria's Tebboune
Sansal is known for his criticism of Algerian authorities as well as of Islamists. He was arrested in November after saying, in an interview with a far-right French media outlet, that France unfairly ceded Moroccan territory to Algeria during the colonial era.
His statement, which echoed a long-standing Moroccan claim, was viewed by Algeria as an affront to its national sovereignty.
The author's arrest in Algiers deepened a diplomatic rift with France, which analysts have said is the worst the two countries have seen in years.
Sansal's pardon a 'relief' says French PM
© France 24
04:16
04:16
'I hope we will see each other soon'
Sansal's daughter Sabeha Sansal, 51, expressed her relief over the decision in a phone call from her home in the Czech Republic.
"I was a little pessimistic because he is sick, he is old, and he could have died there," she said. "I hope we will see each other soon."
A prize-winning figure in North African modern francophone literature, Sansal acquired French nationality in 2024.
Appearing in court without legal counsel on June 24, Sansal had said the case against him "makes no sense" as "the Algerian constitution guarantees freedom of expression and conscience".
When questioned about his writings, Sansal asked: "Are we holding a trial over literature? Where are we headed?"
His case has become a cause celebre in France, but his past support for Israel and his 2014 visit there have made him largely unpopular in Algeria.
The case has also become entangled in the diplomatic crisis between Paris and Algiers, which has led to the expulsion of officials on both sides, the recall of ambassadors and restrictions on holders of diplomatic visas.
READ MORE'Insult to injury': What’s behind the rising tensions between France and Algeria?
Another point of contention was the sentencing to seven years in prison of French sportswriter Christophe Gleizes in Algiers on accusations of attempting to interview a member of the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie (MAK), designated a terrorist organisation by Algeria in 2021.
Both Sansal and Gleizes's prosecution came amid the latest rise in tensions between Paris and Algiers, triggered in July 2024 when Macron backed Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara, where Algeria backs the pro-independence Polisario Front.
Civil servant turned novelist
An economist by training, Sansal worked as a senior civil servant in his native Algeria, with his first novel appearing in 1999.
"The Barbarians' Oath" dealt with the rise of fundamentalist Islam in Algeria and was published in the midst of the country's civil war which left some 200,000 people dead according to official figures.
He was fired from his post in the industry ministry in 2003 for his opposition to the government but continued publishing.
His 2008 work "The German Mujahid" was censored in Algeria for drawing parallels between Islamism and Nazism.
He has received several international prizes for his work, including in France and Germany.
In recent years Germany has offered refuge to several high-profile prisoners from other countries.
The late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was treated at Berlin's Charite hospital after being poisoned in August 2020.
Last year Germany welcomed several other high-profile Russian dissidents as part of a historic prisoner swap with Moscow.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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