TUNIS (Reuters) -An Algerian court upheld on Tuesday a five-year prison sentence being served by French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal for undermining national unity, Ennahar TV said, prompting a call for clemency by France.
Sansal, 80, had been living in France but was detained while visiting Algeria in November and sentenced in March after making statements to a French media outlet in which he endorsed Morocco’s position that part of its territory was seized under French colonialism and annexed to Algeria.
Sansal denied the charges. He said his statements were made within the framework of freedom of expression and that he had no intention of offending Algeria.
“France regrets the appeal court’s decision to impose a prison sentence on our compatriot Boualem Sansal, which maintains the sentence handed down by the lower court”, the French Foreign Ministry said.
It said France urged the Algerian authorities to show clemency and find a swift, humanitarian and dignified solution to the situation of our compatriot, taking into account his state of health and humanitarian considerations.
French President Emmanuel Macron had called for Sandal’s release after he was sentenced in March.
Ties between Paris and Algiers have deteriorated since France recognised Morocco’s sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
Algiers’ refusal to take back those deported by French authorities and Sansal’s detention have exacerbated tensions, with each side expelling some of the other’s diplomats.
(Reporting by Tarek Amara in Tunis, Additional reporting by Dominique Vidalon in Paris, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
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