Boualem Sansal faces 10-year prison sentence in Algeria

French-Algerian writer who was arrested for his views faces a 10-year in jail sentence and a fine of 6887 euros on the charge of terrorism and subversive acts, in a trial denounced by rights activists as political and retaliatory.

Sansal was arrested in November right after landing from France where he gave an interview mentioning the colonial origins of Algeria’s borders which have been expanded at the expense of Morocco.

His arrest triggered a wave of solidarity by novelists, politicians and rights activists from around the world. President Emmanuel Macron also called for his release.

Sansal was also denied the right to defense. His lawyer François Zimmeray was denied a visa and hence banned from taking the case because of his Jewish faith.

In a speech before sycophant Mps, President Tebboune had already condemned Sansal whom he described as a “thief” and called a bastard “who does not know his own father.”