French-Algerian writer Bualem Sansar President Frank-Walter Steinmeier reported on Wednesday that he was “on his way to Germany to receive medical treatment” after being pardoned and released. Sansal was serving a five-year prison sentence in Algeria. … This was seen as a new gesture in the midst of escalating tensions between the two countries. President Macron called for a “humanitarian” release, but without success.
Steinmeier, who on Monday called on Algeria to release the 81-year-old man, thanked President Abdelmayd Thebouneh in a statement for “the humanitarian gesture that demonstrates the high quality of relations and trust between our two countries.” germany and algeria.
“The President of the Republic has responded favorably to this request, which he considers important given its humanitarian nature,” Algeria’s president said in a statement on his Facebook account, adding that “Germany will be responsible for the transfer and treatment” of Sansal, who suffers from prostate cancer.
Later, the French Prime Minister Sebastian Lecornu He expressed his “relief” at the “announcement by the Algerian authorities regarding the pardon of Boualem Sansar.” “I hope he can be reunited with his loved ones and receive treatment as soon as possible,” he added in parliament.
“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all those who contributed to this liberation as a result of a method based on respect and calm,” Lecorne concluded, to applause from those in attendance.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron called Mr. Steinmeier and expressed his deep gratitude for “Germany’s goodwill” and for Sansar’s “fruitful cooperation in recent months regarding his release.”
Similarly, he thanked Mr. Tefune for “this act of humanity” but said he was ready to talk “on all matters of interest” to both countries, including sports journalists. Christoph Glaze Sentenced to seven years in prison in Algeria for “praising terrorism.”
caught up in diplomatic tensions
In July, an Algerian court approved Sansar’s five-year prison sentence following an appeal process against the sentence handed down to him at the end of March. “Attack on national unity” Charges include “publications against the security and stability of the country.”
Mr. Sansal, 76, was sentenced on March 27 to five years in prison and to pay a fine of 500,000 dinars (about 3,300 euros) amid tensions between Algeria and France, where Algerian authorities urged him to go ahead with his release. French President Emmanuel Macron called for “compassion and humanity” from the Algerian president, but this did not shake the Algiers government’s authority.
The public prosecutor’s office has long requested this. imprisonment was extended to 10 years He will remain in prison pending the appeal process.
The case against Sansal stems from his arrest at the Algiers airport after an interview he gave to far-right French media in which he said Paris had ceded Moroccan territory to Algeria during the colonial period, words that Algiers considers an affront to national sovereignty.