German President Asks Algerian Writer Boualem Sansal To Be Imprisoned In Cases Of Damage To Unity

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. (Pixabay-Rabenspiegel)

JAKARTA - German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier asked Algeria to pardon French-Aljazaric writer Boualem Sansal, who was sentenced to five years in prison in a case of damaging national unity in March 2025.

The German Presidential Office said Steinmeier had urged his partner, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, to pardon Sansal, now 76, as a "humanitarian requirement."

"Given the elderly age of Sansal and his fragile health condition," Steinmeier said on Monday local time quoted from AFP.

Steinmeier also offers Sansal relocation to Germany, including further medical treatment will be borne by Germany.

"This will reflect my longstanding personal relationship with President Tebboune and the good relations between our two countries," Steinmeier said.

Algerian presidency has confirmed Steinmeier's request. The request was also reported by Algerian television.

According to observers in Algeria, the fact that the president's office and public television voice Steinmeier's request can be seen as a positive sign for Sansal.

Paris has also asked Algeria to be soft to Sansal, and the punishment for the author further worsened the tense French-Aljazair relationship.

Meanwhile, Sansal's family continues to monitor the condition of the author who is suffering from prostate cancer.

As an award-winning figure in modern North African French literature, Sansal is known for his criticism of Algerian authorities and Muslims.

The case that ensnared Sansal emerged after he told right-wing media Frontieres that France had unfairly transferred Morocco to Algeria during colonial times from 1830 to 1962 a claim Algeria considers a challenge to its sovereignty and is in line with Morocco's long-standing territorial claims.