Algerian Court Sentences Writer Sansal, France Seeks Release

TUNIS/PARIS (Reuters) -An Algerian court sentenced French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal to five years in jail on Thursday for undermining national unity, prompting a call for his freedom from French President Emmanuel Macron.

Sansal, 80, has been detained in Algeria since November, spending time in hospital for ill health, and French authorities as well as fellow writers have called for his release.

Sansal has long been a critic of Algerian authorities, but he has regularly visited the country, and his books have been sold there without restrictions.

The court sentenced Sansal to five years in prison and a fine of about $3,700, private broadcaster Ennahar TV reported.

A diplomatic source confirmed the sentence.

The court charged him with "undermining national unity and publishing publications that threaten national security and stability."

Sansal, who was in court, denied the charges and said he did not intend to offend Algeria or state institutions.

"I hope there can be humanitarian decisions by the highest Algerian authorities to give him back his freedom and allow him to be treated for the disease he is fighting," Macron told a press conference on Thursday.

French media have reported he has cancer.

Ties between Paris and Algiers have deteriorated in recent months since France recognised Morocco's sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

Algiers's refusal to take back those deported by French authorities and now Sansal's detention have exacerbated that.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had criticized Sansal, who was living in France, calling him an "imposter."

(Reporting by Tarek Amara; Additional reporting by John Irish, Dominique Vidalon and Sudip Kar-GuptaEditing by Dominique Vidalon, William Maclean)