Algeria’s prosecutor general has called for a ten-year prison sentence for author Boualem Sansal during an appeal hearing on Tuesday, doubling his current five-year term, according to an AFP reporter present in the courtroom.
Sansal, a dual Algerian-French citizen renowned for his outspoken criticism of both the Algerian government and Islamist groups, was convicted earlier this year in a case that has fuelled diplomatic tensions between Algiers and Paris.
The writer was arrested in November and later tried for “undermining Algeria’s territorial integrity” following an interview he gave to a far-right French media outlet. In the interview, Sansal suggested that France had unfairly transferred Moroccan territory to Algeria during its colonial rule — a statement aligning with Morocco’s longstanding territorial claims and viewed by Algerian authorities as a direct challenge to national sovereignty.
In March, a court in Dar El Beida sentenced Sansal to five years in prison and imposed a fine of 500,000 Algerian dinars (approximately $3,730).
French President Emmanuel Macron has publicly appealed to Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to show “mercy and humanity” towards Sansal. However, Algerian officials maintain that the writer has received fair legal treatment.
Sansal’s prosecution has further strained relations between France and Algeria, which have already been tense due to ongoing disputes over migration and Macron’s controversial decision last year to recognise Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara — a territory claimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front seeking independence.
