A speech delivered in 2011 by Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal—who has since been sentenced to five years in prison in Algeria—will be published on Friday, with proceeds going to an association supporting his cause.
This speech, given for “the German Publishers and Booksellers Peace Prize” and published in Gallimard’s Tracts collection, was originally delivered in Frankfurt, Germany, in October 2011.
"The absence of freedom is a pain that drives one mad over time. It reduces a man to his shadow and his dreams to nightmares," Boualem Sansal declares in the speech.
The writer was arrested in November at Algiers airport and sentenced in late March to five years in prison for, among other charges, undermining national integrity.
His arrest has further strained already tense relations between France and Algeria, following Paris’s announcement in late July 2024 of its full support for an autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty for Western Sahara—a region where the Polisario Front, backed by Algiers, has long fought for independence.
"The proceeds will go to the International Support Society for Boualem Sansal," Gallimard editions stated.
Two other publishers are also donating funds to support the writer.
David Reinharc Editions published a collection of texts in late March, featuring contributions from 60 authors who "defend the honor, courage, and genius of a man facing the worst political repression."
Les Éditions du Cerf have also shown their support by publishing Boualem Sansal, à l’épreuve du réel, released in January. This book is an adaptation of a doctoral thesis on the author, written by Lisa Romain.
With AFP
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