Franco-Algerian novelist Boualem Sansal, a leading voice in French-language literature, has been elected to Belgium’s Royal Academy of French Language and Literature. The recognition comes as the 80-year-old author remains imprisoned in Algeria on charges of “undermining national unity.”
Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who has been imprisoned in Algeria for nearly a year, has been elected to the Royal Academy of French Language and Literature of Belgium, the Academy’s permanent secretary Yves Namur told AFP on Sunday.
“Boualem Sansal embodies the creative spirit of the writer, which is inseparable from the freedom it requires,” the Academy said in a statement. It had previously honored him in 2007 with its Francophone Literature Prize.
The 80-year-old author, who has been ill and jailed since November 2024 on charges of “undermining national unity,” saw his five-year prison sentence upheld on appeal by Algerian courts on July 1.
Founded in 1920, the Royal Academy of French Language and Literature of Belgium has 40 members, just like the Académie française, but unlike its French counterpart, ten of its seats are reserved for foreign members.
With AFP
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