The Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, incarcerated since November 2024, obtained an Algerian presidential pardon. The decision was announced this Wednesday, November 12 by the Algerian presidency, which specifies that this measure responds to a request from German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier for humanitarian reasons.
“President Abdelmadjid Tebboune responded favorably to the request of his German counterpart concerning the granting of a pardon in favor of Boualem Sansal,” indicates the official press release, adding that the head of state “reacted to this request, which caught his attention due to its nature and its humanitarian reasons.”
The author of The Barbarian Oath had been arrested on November 16, 2024, shortly after an interview given to the French far-right media Bordersin which he criticized the Algerian power and questioned the country’s current borders with Morocco.
According to the presidency, this pardon paves the way for a transfer of Boualem Sansal to Germany, where he will be medically cared for. This decision, rare in the Algerian political context, could help ease diplomatic tensions between Algiers and Berlin, while relaunching the debate on freedom of expression in Algeria.
