Prominent Writers Worldwide Call for the Release of Algerian Author

A week after the arrest of Boualem Sansal, an Algerian writer upon his return to his country, several prominent writers from around the world, including several Nobel Prize winners in literature, have called for his immediate release. Mr. Sansal is known for his criticism of the Algerian government and political Islam. Annie Ernaux, Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio, Orhan Pamuk, and Wole Soyinka, all Nobel laureates, along with writers such as Salman Rushdie and Roberto Saviano, who have faced threats, issued a joint statement published in the weekly Le Point, demanding the 'immediate freedom' of Boualem Sansal. This statement, initiated by Kamel Daoud, a compatriot of Mr. Sansal and this year's Goncourt Prize winner, also calls for the release of all writers imprisoned for their beliefs. Boualem Sansal, 75, is a recipient of several literary awards, including the Peace Prize of the German Publishers. The signatories of the statement wrote: 'We cannot remain silent; the freedom, the right to culture, and the lives of writers targeted by this terror are at risk.' According to several media reports, Boualem Sansal was arrested on November 16 while returning from France to Algeria at Algiers Airport. The official Algerian news agency confirmed the arrest but did not specify the date. The Algerian state news agency criticized France for supporting Sansal, labeling him a 'puppet' of the West. While this writer has recently acquired French citizenship, Emmanuel Macron's aides have told French media that Macron is very concerned about Sansal's situation and that government agencies are mobilized to clarify his status. The exact reasons for the writer's arrest are unclear, but media reports suggest that it occurred against the backdrop of rising tensions between Paris and Algiers over France's recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara. Le Monde reported that his statements on this issue in a publication might be viewed by the Algerian government as 'undermining national sovereignty.' France has recently recognized this sovereignty, which has angered Algeria. However, Algeria, which does not recognize Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara, supports the separatists in the region who are in conflict with Morocco. This writer was previously a government employee in Algeria but was dismissed in 2003 due to his critical stance against the government. Mr. Sansal is not only considered a critic of the Algerian government but has also provoked the anger of Islamists with his works, such as the novels '2084, End of the World' and 'Governance in the Name of Allah.' He narrates and condemns the rise of Islamic fundamentalists in the world in his works; fundamentalists who particularly caused a decade of civil war in Algeria. Algeria now prohibits any discussion of this war in books. This writer, who was previously a government employee in Algeria, was dismissed in 2003 due to his critical stance against the government. While critics accuse Sansal of 'Islamophobia,' he has emphasized that he 'never said anything against Islam that would justify this accusation.' He insists that what he has never ceased to condemn is the instrumentalization of Islam for political and social purposes.