Marrakech – Algeria has agreed to pardon and transfer Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal to Germany for medical treatment, following a humanitarian request from German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the Algerian presidency announced on Wednesday.
The statement said President Abdelmadjid Tebboune “responded favorably” to the German request, citing the “humanitarian nature and motives” of the appeal. The regime’s decision comes after a year of diplomatic tensions with France over the writer’s detention.
Sansal, 80, has been imprisoned in Algeria since his arrest on November 16, 2024. He was sentenced on appeal in July to five years in prison for statements regarding Algeria’s territorial inheritance during the French colonization period.
When France invaded the Regency of Algiers in 1830, the territory under the Dey’s effective control was largely limited to a narrow coastal strip and a few inland beyliks, estimated at no more than 200,000 to 250,000 km².
Over the following century, colonial authorities vastly expanded “Algeria” southwards and eastwards, administratively annexing large Saharan regions that were never historically part of the Regency.
These expansions incorporated Moroccan Eastern Saharan lands such as Tindouf and Bechar, Tuareg confederation territories historically linked to Mali and Niger (Azawad and the central Sahara), as well as parts of southern Tunisia and western Libyan Saharan zones.
By the time Algeria gained independence in 1962, the country’s territory had been redefined into the borders we know today – a state of nearly 2.38 million km². It thus emerged from French colonization as the largest country in Africa, not because of pre-colonial inheritance, but primarily through French administrative re-mapping of the Sahara.
The German president had urged his Algerian counterpart to grant clemency, specifically requesting that Sansal be transferred to Germany for medical care “given his advanced age and fragile health condition.” This diplomatic intervention proved successful where French efforts had failed.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu expressed “relief” at the announcement, telling MPs that the development was the “fruit of a method based on respect and calm.”
He thanked those who contributed to the writer’s liberation and expressed hope that Sansal would “be able to rejoin his loved ones as soon as possible” and “receive medical care.”
The regime fears ideas more than weapons
The Algerian regime’s concession comes amid unprecedented diplomatic tensions with France, which had deteriorated into a full-blown crisis. The dispute had led to mutual expulsions of officials, the recalling of ambassadors, and the imposition of restrictions on diplomatic visa holders.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot had stated just days earlier, on November 6, that France was engaged in “demanding dialogue” with Algiers to secure Sansal’s release. The breakthrough came not through direct French pressure but via Germany’s intervention.
Berlin’s role as intermediary provided a face-saving solution for all parties, as Algeria would never have released the writer if he were to return directly to France. European leaders had been working on this option for several weeks, seeking a way to resolve the standoff without further inflaming tensions.
The French literary world had mounted a sustained campaign for Sansal’s release. He was named honorary president of the recent book fair in Brive-la-Gaillarde, while Goncourt Prize jurors wore badges calling for his freedom.
The Algerian regime’s vicious campaign against dissent and its ruthless suppression of historical truth, along with its ongoing persecution of independent thought and harsh treatment of critical expression, once again expose its deep fear of truth and intellectual freedom.
The jailing of an elderly writer for citing verifiable, documented historical records lays bare not only the regime’s fragile sense of legitimacy but also its systematic cruelty toward those who challenge its fabricated narratives.
Algiers’ refusal to address legitimate human rights concerns – yielding only under international pressure from Germany rather than France – reveals a petty diplomacy rooted in resentment, opportunism, and a willingness to use citizens as political pawns.
This episode also underscores how the authoritarian establishment relentlessly crushes dissenting voices, weaponizes the judiciary, and criminalizes historical inquiry, all while masquerading under a hollow façade of international respectability.
While Sansal’s case appears resolved, French sports journalist Christophe Gleizes remains incarcerated in Algeria, where he awaits an appeal hearing in early December after being sentenced to seven years in prison for “advocating terrorism.”
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