Algeria Upholds Sansal Sentence Amid Diplomatic Tensions

An Algerian appeals court has upheld a five-year prison sentence for Boualem Sansal, an 80-year-old French-Algerian writer known for criticizing the Algerian government and Islamists, on charges of 'undermining national unity' after public support for Morocco's territorial claims. Sansal, detained since November 2024, has denied the charges and asserts his comments fall under freedom of expression. The verdict has intensified diplomatic tensions between Algeria and France, with French President Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister François Bayrou, the French Foreign Ministry, and prominent intellectuals condemning the sentence and calling for Sansal's release or pardon due to his health and age. Critics have described the proceedings as an attack on free speech. The case comes amid broader disputes between the two countries over Western Sahara and deportation policies. Sansal has eight days to appeal to Algeria's supreme court, and there is speculation that President Abdelmadjid Tebboune could grant a pardon, possibly timed with Algeria's Independence Day.