"Algeria has agreed to pardon French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who has been detained for a year on charges of undermining national unity. Algeria's presidency announced plans to free the 81-year-old writer on Wednesday, saying President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had accepted a request from his German counterpart to pardon him on humanitarian grounds. Sansal, a prize-winning author in francophone North African literature, is known for his criticism of Algerian authorities."
"He was arrested last November after giving an interview in which he said that France had unjustly transferred Moroccan territory to Algeria during the colonial period from 1830 to 1962 a claim Algeria views as a challenge to its sovereignty. In March, Sansal was sentenced to five years' imprisonment under anti-terrorism laws. He has slammed the case against him as senseless, arguing Algeria's constitution guarantees freedom of expression and conscience."
"While France had urged for leniency in Sansal's case, Algeria was more responsive to the intervention from Germany, whose President Frank-Walter Steinmeier appealed to his longstanding personal relationship with Tebboune in issuing the pardon request. Sansal's daughter Sabeha Sansal told the AFP news agency that she was relieved following the pardon and hoped to see her father soon."
Algeria agreed to pardon Boualem Sansal after German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier appealed to President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on humanitarian grounds. The 81-year-old had been detained for a year on charges of undermining national unity and was sentenced in March to five years under anti-terrorism laws. Arrest followed an interview in which Sansal said France had unjustly transferred Moroccan territory to Algeria during colonial rule, a claim Algeria regards as a sovereignty challenge. Sansal has called the case senseless and cited constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression and conscience. The case strained Algeria-France relations and drew international attention; his daughter expressed relief.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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