French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal has been pardoned and is to be released from prison, the Algerian presidential office announced on Wednesday. The 81-year-old, who has prostate cancer, will be transferred to Germany for medical treatment.
The decision follows a request from German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who urged Algeria to free Sansal. The Algerian statement said President Abdelmadjid Tebboune responded positively to the request from the 'esteemed president of the friendly Federal Republic of Germany.'
Sansal, a vocal critic of the Algerian regime, was arrested at Algiers airport in November last year and sentenced to five years in prison in March on charges of undermining national unity. His arrest came after he commented in an interview that France had unfairly ceded Moroccan territory to Algeria during the colonial era.
Relations between France and Algeria have deteriorated since President Emmanuel Macron backed Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara in 2024. Macron had said Algeria was 'dishonouring' itself by imprisoning Sansal. By releasing him to Germany, Algeria has found a way out of the diplomatic standoff without losing face.
Steinmeier said pardoning Sansal would be 'an expression of humanitarian sentiment and political foresight,' reflecting his 'years-long personal relationship' with Tebboune. Several international authors, including Salman Rushdie, Annie Ernaux and Wole Soyinka, had appealed for Sansal's release.
