Rabat – French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, imprisoned in Algeria since mid-November, has refused food since Monday, his lawyer said on Sunday.
He described the move as an act of desperation, citing concerns over Sansal’s treatment and the conditions of his detention.
“I fear for his health and for his right to a fair trial,” said François Zimeray, the French lawyer representing Sansal.
Zimeray, who has not received a visa to visit Algeria and meet his client, said Sansal took this step after facing pressure to change lawyers.
Reports suggest that Algerian authorities urged him to dismiss his current legal counsel in favor of “another French lawyer who is not Jewish.”
“Despite my measured approach in defending him, the personal attacks against me in some Algerian media, and my efforts to respect the country’s legal framework, the authorities continue to block my visa request without justification. This decision deprives Boualem Sansal of the right to choose his own defense,” Zimeray said.
His lawyer also warned that the prison had stopped Sansal’s medical treatment after he started the hunger strike.
Algerian authorities have charged Sansal under Article 87 of the Penal Code, which defines acts that threaten state security, territorial integrity, or the stability of institutions as terrorism or subversion.
Officials reacted strongly to his interview with Frontières, a far-right French publication, in which he repeated Morocco’s position that its territory had been reduced under French colonial rule for Algeria’s benefit.
Writers and intellectuals have denounced his arrest, calling the charges unfounded.
In January, French President Emmanuel Macron sharply criticized Algeria for imprisoning Sansal, calling the country’s actions a “disgrace.”
Speaking before the French ambassadors at the Élysée, he accused the Algerian authorities of denying medical care to the ailing writer.
“Algeria dishonors itself by preventing a gravely ill man from receiving proper care,” the French president said.
