Boualem Sansal: French-Algerian writer jailed over Morocco comments

Boualem Sansal, 80, told a far-right news outlet that colonial France gave too much land to Algeria.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatch LiveHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcastsRadioAudio FAQsVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveWeatherNewslettersFrench-Algerian writer jailed over Morocco comments4 hours agoShareSaveNatasha BootyBBC NewsShareSaveGetty ImagesBoualem Sansal was arrested after flying from Paris to Algiers in November (archive photo)An Algerian court has sentenced an 80-year-old writer to five years in prison after accusing him of undermining the country's territorial integrity.

Boualem Sansal was arrested last year after saying in an interview with a far-right French media outlet that, during the colonial era, France gave too much land to Algeria and too little to Morocco.

He had also said that the disputed territory of Western Sahara was historically part of Morocco.

During his detention the French-Algerian author has spent time in hospital for ill-health.

His case has sparked a wave of support from intellectuals and politicians, including Nigerian Nobel Prize-winning author Wole Soyinka and French President Emmanuel Macron.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8rk71lxv11o

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