I will go all the way: writer Boualem Sansal intends to sue Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune

“They sentenced me to death, putting all kinds of things on me, ‘terrorism,’ ‘espionage,’ ‘attack on state security’,” emphasized the 81-year-old author on Saturday, invited to the Political Book Day held at the National Assembly in Paris.

He’s fighting back. Author Boualem Sansal, pardoned in November by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune after a year in prison, stated on Saturday, April 11, that he intends to “sue.” The Franco-Algerian author, speaking at the Political Book Day at the National Assembly, participated in a round table with lawyer Richard Malka on the theme “political book, a source of commitment.”

“I wrote (…) to Mr. Tebboune when I was in prison (..), I told him (…) if you release me, I will sue you. And I will sue Mr. Tebboune because he’s the one who sentenced me,” he declared, interrupting to applause from the audience. “They sentenced me to death, putting all kinds of things, ‘terrorism,’ ‘espionage,’ ‘attack on the state security’,” added the 81-year-old man, who was sentenced to five years in prison and incarcerated for nearly a year for his critical views on his native country.

Boualem Sansal specified that “the legal process has been initiated.” “My lawyer has prepared a file to seek international justice against Mr. Tebboune,” he added, saying he is “waiting for the right moment,” referring to the case of sports journalist Christophe Gleizes, imprisoned in Algeria since May 2024, where he was sentenced to seven years in prison for “glorifying terrorism.” “I will go all the way,” assured the dissident writer, believing he did not have “a fair trial, with lawyers and international observers.”