This is Beirut - Algeria

Boualem Sansal: Five Years in Prison and an Unfolding Diplomatic Crisis

This is Beirut, 27/03 19:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Emmanuel Macron Boualem Sansal Algeria France

As Paris looked for signs of de-escalation from Algiers, the Dar al-Beïda court delivered its ruling. On Thursday, March 27, 2025, French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal was sentenced to five years in prison and fined 500,000 dinars (approximately €3,470). The sentence falls short of the ten-year term requested by the public prosecutor a week ...

Algerian writer Boualem Sansal faces 10-year prison sentence

This is Beirut, 21/03 14:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Algeria France Writer Human Rights

Algerian prosecutors have requested a 10-year prison sentence for French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, accused of undermining the country's territorial integrity, local media reported Thursday. Sansal, a prominent figure in North African modern Francophone literature, is known for his criticism of Algerian authorities as well as Islamists. The ...

Boualem Sansal Chooses to Defend Himself and Denies Hunger Strike

This is Beirut, 25/02 18:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Algeria Censorship Culture Art Writer Journalist

The French-Algerian writer, who has been in custody since mid-November, has not begun a hunger strike nor halted his medical treatment, as stated by his lawyer in Paris. Instead, he intends to represent himself, according to Mohamed Baghdadi, the head of the Algiers Bar Association. "Contrary to what has been reported, he is not on a hunger ...

Writers Rally as Boualem Sansal Begins Hunger Strike

This is Beirut, 24/02 14:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Algeria Censorship Writer Culture Art

Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, imprisoned in Algeria since mid-November, began a hunger strike on Monday, his lawyer told AFP on Sunday, citing information from a judicial source. "I fear for his health, as well as for the possibility of a fair trial," said François Zimeray, the writer’s French lawyer, confirming a report by Le Journal ...

Kamel Daoud Accused by Algerian Woman of Story Theft

This is Beirut, 15/02 10:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Culture Writing Algeria France Paris

Franco-Algerian writer Kamel Daoud has been sued in France for invasion of privacy by Saâda Arbane, an Algerian woman who accuses him of stealing her story to form the core of his novel Houris, which won the prestigious Prix Goncourt last year. This lawsuit, also reported by the French media outlet Mediapart on Friday, has its first procedural ...

Joseph Aoun Invited to Algiers

This Is Beirut, 09/02 19:40 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Lebanon Algeria

The Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Attaf, handed over to President Joseph Aoun an invitation from his Algerian counterpart, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, to visit Algiers. “Algeria and Lebanon have a shared history full of solidarity, cooperation and mutual support on issues of concern to our two brotherly peoples. Our positions have ...

Tunisia: CinemaTdour, a Mobile Truck Making Cinema Accessible to All

This is Beirut, 2024-12-23 14:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Tunisia Algeria Africa Culture Art Cinema

"If you can't go to the cinema, it will come to you" might well describe CinemaTdour, a mobile cinema truck touring Tunisia to make the seventh art accessible to everyone, from rural areas to underserved neighborhoods. Dozens of workers joyfully step down from a large red truck parked in front of their factory in Djemmal, a central-eastern town ...

Algeria: Imprisoned Author Boualem Sansal Transferred to Medical Care

This is Beirut, 2024-12-17 16:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Culture Algeria France

Boualem Sansal, who has been detained since mid-November for "threatening state security," was transferred to a medical care unit, his publisher and lawyer in France reported on Monday. Speaking at a solidarity event held in a Paris theater, publisher Antoine Gallimard and lawyer François Zimeray addressed several hundred attendees. “We ...

Algeria Summons French Ambassador Over Accusations of Interference

This is Beirut, 2024-12-15 17:35 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Algeria France Morocco Boualem Sansal

Algeria's foreign ministry has summoned the French ambassador to reprimand him for what it described as efforts to destabilize the country, several Algerian media outlets reported on Sunday. The ambassador, Stéphane Romatet, was "informed of the firm disapproval of the highest Algerian authorities in response to numerous French provocations and ...

Boualem Sansal's Arrest: Literary Giants Unite Against Algerian Oppression

Bélinda Ibrahim, 2024-11-24 10:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

France Algeria Literature Writer Culture

The arrest of Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal upon his arrival at Algiers airport on November 16 has sparked outrage across the literary world and beyond. At 75 years old, this committed intellectual, who became a French citizen in 2024, is known for his courageous stance against Islamism and totalitarianism. His detention by Algerian ...

Alarm in France over fate of prize-winning French-Algerian writer

This is Beirut, 2024-11-22 17:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Algeria France Boualem Sansal Islam Literature

French President Emmanuel Macron is concerned about the "disappearance" of French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, his office said, after reports that the prize-winning novelist had been arrested in Algeria. Sansal, a major figure in francophone modern literature, is known for his strong stances against both authoritarianism and Islamism as well ...

Algeria