French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot described on Wednesday the “baseless” arrest of renowned French-Algerian novelist Boualem Sansal in Algeria as “unacceptable”.
“Nothing in Boualem Sansal’s activities justifies the accusations that have led to his imprisonment,” Barrot told FranceInfo.
Sansal, 75, who obtained French citizenship earlier this year, was arrested this month at Algiers airport upon returning from France.
“The detention of a French writer without grounds is simply unacceptable,” the FM said.
Barrot also said state services are fully mobilised in Algiers and Paris to monitor Sansal’s situation and allow him access to consular protection.
Sensal has been questioned by Algeria’s anti-terrorism prosecutor and was placed in detention, his French lawyer, Francois Zimeray, said.
The writer was indicted Tuesday under Algeria’s Article 87 bis on charges of “undermining the integrity of the national territory,” the lawyer added.
On Friday, Algeria’s state news agency APS finally acknowledged his arrest without clarifying the circumstances.
Sansal, who has repeatedly criticized Algerian officials, was arrested on November 16 on arrival at Algiers airport.
Zimeray said that, “the deprivation of liberty of an 80-year-old writer because of his writings is a serious act.”
He added, “Whatever injuries or sensitivities are invoked, they are inseparable from the very concept of freedom, which has been hard-won in Algeria,” according to AFP.
“If there must be an investigation, it in no way justifies extending the detention of Boualem Sansal,” the lawyer said.
When questioned on Tuesday in the French National Assembly about the possibility of punishing Algerian officials in this highly sensitive issue, the Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, Attractiveness and French Nationals Abroad, Sophie Primas, said: “At this stage, I cannot tell you more because diplomacy requires action in silence, not silence itself.'"
