An Algerian court sentenced, on Thursday, 75-year-old writer Boualem Sansal to five years in prison for undermining the country's territorial integrity, following remarks about Morocco and Western Sahara. The writer's conviction stems from comments he made during an October 2024 interview with a far-right French outlet, Livre Noir, in which he said that during the colonial era, France allocated too much land to Algeria and too little to Morocco. Sansal also accused the Algerian regime of creating the Polisario Front to destabilize Morocco. Sansal, who has been in poor health during his detention, has sparked significant support from intellectuals and politicians, including French President Emmanuel Macron. Macron emphasized in February that Sansal's arbitrary detention, combined with his deteriorating health, was a key issue that needed to be addressed to restore full confidence between France and Algeria. Sansal's arrest has indeed intensified the strained diplomatic relations between Algeria and France, which reached a new low last year when France expressed support for Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara. «He has unwillingly become a pawn in the troubled relationship between Paris and Algiers», a committee representing Sansal's supporters argued, believing that the writer has unintentionally become a pawn in the larger geopolitical struggle between France, Algeria, and Morocco. In the wake of Thursday's court ruling, Sansal's lawyer has called on Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to show «humanity» towards the ailing writer. Article modifié le 27/03/2025 à 13h49
