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75-year-old French Algerian writer Boalem Sansal has been in detention in Algeria for five months
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An outspoken critic of the Algerian government, Sansal was convicted in March of making statements undermining the country's territorial integrity
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The charges are believed to be linked to comments he made in a right-wing French media outlet
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when he suggested that during France's colonial rule in North Africa, France reduced Moroccan territory to Algeria's benefit
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His conviction provoked an outcry in France, especially among writers, free speech advocates and political leaders
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I sincerely hope that following this judgment, there will be clear decisions, humane and humanitarian
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from the highest Algerian authorities to restore his freedom and allow him to become a free man again
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as well as receive treatment, since he is also battling illness. the maladies. The books of Sansal have been banned in Algeria since 2006 because he is a
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former high-ranking government official who has criticized the rise of political Islam
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Nonetheless, they are still widely read
