105. Algeria, where freedom of expression is only a memory 

I discovered Boualem Sansal, a French-Algerian author, after my favorite French novelist, Annie Ernaux, urged for his release from prison. Ernaux is a reserved woman and not very active on social media, which led me to learn more about Sansal. 

In fact, many writers worldwide have, over the past few months, called for the release of the Algerian-born author. This list includes international authors such as Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio, Orhan Pamuk, Salman Rushdie, and Wole Soyinka.

Boualem Sansal, an eighty-one-year-old French-Algerian writer diagnosed with prostate cancer, can now be transferred from Algeria to Germany for medical treatment.

The move comes after German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier's call to Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who had previously refused French requests for Sansal's pardon.

Sansal, a vocal critic of the Algerian regime, was arrested at Algiers airport in November 2024 and received a five-year prison sentence on charges of undermining national unity. 

In an earlier interview, the writer remarked that France unjustly transferred Moroccan territory to Algeria during colonization. 

He was prosecuted under Article 87 of the Algerian Penal Code for actions including undermining national unity, insulting official bodies, damaging the national economy, and possessing videos and publications that threaten national security and stability.

Sansal stated to the court that “my comments or writings were simply a personal opinion, and I have the right to express them like any other Algerian citizen."

The reality is that the writer was held as a political hostage because relations between France and Algeria were worsening. 

Sansal, a vocal critic of Islamism, oppression, injustice, Islamist totalitarianism, and the Algerian regime, published his first novel at age 50. Since 2006, after writing his essay Poste Restante Algeria: An Open Letter to My Compatriots in Anger, his books have been banned in Algeria.

Sansal’s novel Le Serment des Barbares, has won France’s Prix du Premier Roman.

Reportedly in Algeria, writers, intellectuals, publishers, and booksellers live under threat of reprisals, including espionage accusations, arbitrary arrests, trials, defamation, and violent media attacks. 

The writers' community and intellectuals worldwide must unite to fight against such a regime.

Writers should not experience violence because they are sensitive people who try to write and educate against it.

We need to speak up. This is about freedom and freedom of speech.