European Parliament calls for release of French-Algerian writer

A group of members of the European Parliament (MEPs) denounced the arbitrary arrest of French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal on Nov.16 in Algiers and demanded his immediate release.

In a plenary session, the MEPs called for the immediate release of Sansal, whose arrest was confirmed in a diatribe by Algerian official media who indulged in prejudice calling the writer a traitor or “of Moroccan origins” and a spokesman for France and the “Zionists”.

In a rare cohesion and message of unity, the MEPs backed the right of Sansal to free speech and condemned the deteriorating human rights in Algeria.

The Algerian government is so weak to arrest someone who criticized it like Sansal, François-Xavier Bellamy (EPP) said.

Raphaël Glucksmann, the leader of the Socialists and Place Publique, said Algeria is on the footsteps of authoritarian regime who persecute intellectuals.

The Algerian regime is “motivated by its hatred of France (…) and behaves like a rogue state, ready to do anything to exert diplomatic pressure,” said Marion Maréchal, from the European Conservatives and Reformists group, who described the arrest of Sansal as ” a hostage-taking that does not say its name.”

Marie Toussaint, of the Greens, said “the freedom of writers is the barometer for the people’s freedom,” adding that “when a writer is imprisoned, an entire nation is imprisoned, deprived of its thought, its ability to dream, to question, to evolve.”

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell had also condemned Sansal’s arrest as a clear attack against freedom of expression, denounced the repression of freedom of speech in Algeria, and called on Algerian authorities to release immediately the Franco-Algerian writer.

In a speech delivered on his behalf at the EU Parliament, Borrell said the circumstances of the arrest and detention of Boualem raise many questions and concerns.

“If this accusation were based exclusively on opinions expressed publicly by Boualem Sansal, it would represent a clear attack against freedom of expression”, said Mr. Borrell, urging the Algerian judicial authorities to address all these issues, which are clearly related to the rule of law and respect for human rights.