Things are not looking good for Boualem Sansal. State-controlled media in Algiers are inciting against the 75-year-old writer. The Algerian-French dual citizen was arrested last month upon his arrival in Algiers. The charge against the German Book Trade Peace Prize laureate is “attacking national integrity,” a terrorism-related offense punishable by death, although such sentences are usually commuted to life imprisonment.
Algerian state television ENTV has labeled Sansal an “agent with Moroccan roots hiding behind literature to serve a dirty project.” The state news agency APS calls him a “pseudo-intellectual revered by the extreme right.” Behind him, they claim, stands the “entire anti-Algerian and pro-Zionist who’s who of Paris.” French politicians, including President Emmanuel Macron, along with numerous internationally renowned writers such as Annie Ernaux, Orhan Pamuk, and Salman Rushdie, have called for his release.
Sansal has found himself caught between two political fronts: relations between Algiers and Paris have hit a new low due to disputes over Western Sahara. Simultaneously, tensions with regional rival Morocco have escalated to the brink of armed conflict.
In an interview in early October, Sansal ventured onto politically sensitive terrain. Speaking to the media platform Frontières, which has ties to the far right, he questioned the borders drawn by colonial France. Sansal stated that the entire western part of Algeria, including Oran, was Moroccan before French colonization. Initially, Algerian independence fighters intended to return the area, but they soon sought confrontation with Morocco and “invented the Polisario Front to destabilize Morocco.”
From Algeria’s perspective, Sansal committed a double political sacrilege by questioning the country’s borders and the Polisario independence movement, which Algeria supports. Tensions have been high since France shifted its diplomatic stance in July, recognizing Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara and describing Rabat’s autonomy plan as the “only basis” for a resolution. Macron’s state visit to Rabat in late October exacerbated the situation.
In response, Algeria recalled its ambassador and announced plans to suspend trade relations with France, reminiscent of its two-year freeze on ties with Spain when Madrid signaled support for Western Sahara autonomy. The potential return of Donald Trump to the White House has further unsettled Algiers. During his first term, Trump not only recognized Morocco’s claims to Western Sahara but also brokered Morocco’s establishment of diplomatic ties with Israel. Algeria, steadfastly supporting Palestine, views Morocco’s alliance with Israel as a threat to its national security. In 2021, Algeria severed diplomatic relations with Morocco, initiating an arms race.
The border between conservative Morocco and socialist Algeria has long been a political flashpoint. Shortly after Algeria’s independence, Morocco attempted to adjust the border by force, leading to the 1963 “Sand War,” which Sansal likens to the recent Gaza conflict. The idea of a “Greater Morocco,” which emerged after Moroccan independence, continues to surface in Moroccan election campaigns. This vision claims vast territories, including parts of Mali, Algeria, and even the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, as well as Western Sahara.
Both regimes have historically exploited the border conflict to stoke nationalism and distract from domestic political and economic challenges. Under President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, in power since 2019, Algeria has adopted a more assertive foreign policy, both toward Morocco and in the Sahel region. However, the harsh response to a writer’s statements still came as a surprise. In November, Tebboune appeared more lenient, pardoning several political dissidents to mark the 70th anniversary of Algeria’s war of independence. Among those released were journalist Ihsane El Kadi and executives of a media outlet.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), Sansal’s arrest reflects a worrying trend that began with the suppression of the Hirak protest movement in 2019. “Authorities have intensified their repression, targeting critical voices, including activists, journalists, human rights defenders, academics, and social media users, even Algerians in the diaspora,” says HRW’s Bassam Khawaja.
The once-vibrant press has disappeared, and freedom of expression faces ever tighter restrictions. A new law for the film industry, enacted in the spring, threatens filmmakers with imprisonment if they “disrespect national values” or the “supreme interests of the nation.”
