The renowned Algerian-French writer Sansal has been detained in Algeria for more than a month. Prominent authors are calling for his release. Was an interview fatal to Sansal?
Boualem Sansal wanted to go home to Boumerdès, a coastal town near Algiers. He is 80 years old, a striking figure with long gray hair. But when the world-renowned writer landed in Algiers from France on November 16th, he was arrested.
Sansal has crossed the border between France and Algeria for decades, polarizing people in both countries with his views on Islam. He continued to live in Algeria, although his books were temporarily banned there, although he repeatedly criticized those in power and warned about the dangers of Islamism. And although many of his colleagues have long since emigrated to Europe.
“They say this is a blocked country”
“I no longer have a social life, I hardly have a family life anymore,” he said ten years ago in an interview with the ARD in his study. Most of his friends and family members emigrated because of their children. “They say there is no future in Algeria, it is a blocked country.”
The state was doing everything it could to prevent people from discussing things with each other, Sansal said at the time. He has tried again and again to get his compatriots to do just that, with his novels, but also with essays and open letters.
“One of the most important voices in Algerian literature” – this is how PEN Berlin honors Boualem Sansal.
A sensitive topic
Now, after his arrest, they are discussing – about himself. But not on the streets of the capital Algiers. It is often said in Algiers these days that the topic is too sensitive.
There is a general lack of debate in Algeria, says Algerian journalist Akram Kharief tagesschau.de. The press is completely controlled.
The state news agency Algérie Press Service (APS) calls Sansal a “pseudo-intellectual revered by the French far right.” The entire “anti-Algerian and pro-Zionist who’s who of Paris” is behind him.
Double breaking of taboos in an interview
The judiciary did not explain why Sansal was arrested. It is said that the accusation is: undermining state security.
The stumbling block may have been an interview with the media portal Frontières, which is said to be close to France's extreme right. Sansal was on extremely slippery political ice. In the interview, he indicated doubts about Algeria's borders set by the colonial power France. The west of Algeria, he indicated, was Moroccan before colonization.
This is tricky because of the ongoing conflict between Algeria and Morocco over Western Sahara, in which Algeria is on the side of the Western Sahara Liberation Front Polisario. And because French President Emmanuel Macron has recently been supporting Morocco in this conflict.
With his statement, Sansal landed between two political fronts: Algeria-France and Algeria-Morocco.
The conflict over Western Sahara has largely disappeared from the headlines. However, the issue remains explosive for Morocco, which claims ownership of the entire area, and Algeria, which supports the Frente Polisario movement.
Hardly any public support in Algeria
Sansal has hardly any public advocates in Algeria. He also comes off badly in many posts on social media. Journalist Akram Kharief finds Sansal's statements “wrong and revisionist”. The fact that they were also published in a “right-wing extremist, Islamophobic medium” makes them an unnecessary provocation.
But: From Kharief's point of view, it is Sansal's personal opinion. And the author is not a historian, so he should not be severely punished.
Human rights activists criticize restrictions on freedom of expression in Algeria. This 2021 demonstration for political reform resulted in clashes between protesters and police.
Call for solidarity
International writers are therefore showing their solidarity with Sansal: “No writer should be imprisoned because of his opinion. We demand his immediate release!” says their appeal, which is now also available in German bookstores. Well-known colleagues such as Salman Rushdie, Daniel Kehlmann and Orhan Pamuk have signed.
Since his first novel, “The Oath of the Barbarians,” published in 1999, Sansal, who writes in French, has been considered one of the most important authors of contemporary Algerian literature. In Germany he received the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade in 2011.
The jury praised him as a “passionate storyteller” who “stands up against every form of doctrinal delusion, terror and political arbitrariness.” In France last week, Sansal's friends and colleagues organized a solidarity festival, and the city of Perpignan quickly made him an honorary citizen.
The magazine Frontières is associated with the extreme right in France. An interview with Sansal could have been the reason for the arrest. (screenshot)
Political debate with risk
However, there has largely been no loud political discussion. Sansal's French lawyer François Zimeray, who was not allowed to enter Algeria for a detention hearing, actually warns against this, given the “extremely sensitive context.” Sansal would “more likely lose” if French authorities intervened directly, he said at a press conference together with Sansal's publisher in France.
Silence might be better. The lawyer is worried about his client, also because he needs medical help.
The journalist Kharief does not dare to predict how the Sansal case might turn out. Whether released or convicted, Algeria will suffer the consequences, he says tagesschau.de. “Unfortunately, in the past the judiciary has harshly punished some people who were polemical or did not follow the theses of the state power.”
And Sansal himself? The Algerian judiciary continues to provide extremely sparse information. Neither about his whereabouts nor about the 80-year-old's state of health. Most recently it was said that he had been transferred to a hospital ward.
