Concern in France with the arrest, at the Algiers airport, of the Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal (75 years old), suspected of “threats against internal security”, well known for his denunciations of Islam and Islamism.
Emmanuel MacronPresident of the Republic, has made public his “deepest concern” for the fate of the writer, announcing that the State security services “are mobilized to clarify the situation.” An official statement adds: “The head of state wishes to express his unwavering defense of the freedom of a great writer and intellectual.”
It is simply exceptional that a president intervenes in such a direct and definitive manner regarding the arrest of a writer.
Sansal was arrested last Saturday afternoon, the 16th. Since then, there has been no news of him. His phone was confiscated by the Algerian internal security services. After several days of uncertainty, his arrest is perceived in France as a dramatic ‘sign’ of the increase in political and religious repression.
After the massacre of October 7, 2023, when Hezbollah launched its Islamist war against Israel, the statements of Sansal and other Algerian, Moroccan and Tunisian writers have denounced the growing position of Islam and Islamism against freedoms, not only in the Middle East , with many threats for Europe, too.
Some of Sansal’s basic denunciations are famous: “Islam and Islamism were born at the same time.” “The Islam of France comes from Qatar and Saudi Arabia.” “Islam is incompatible with democracy.” “Islam is the problem, Islamism is marginal.” “Islam is Islamism.”
After Macron’s position, Gallimard, the editor of Sansal, the first French publisher, due to its importance, reacts with the same concern: «We feel the freedom and luck of a writer. Freedom of thought is at stake.
A group of writers and journalists, led by André Bercoff and Anne Sinclair, have opened a Twitter account, #LiberezBoualemSansal, calling for national and international solidarity.
Kamel Daoud (54 years old), Algerian writer and journalist, recent Goncourt winner, shares with Sansal and other writers his criticism against Islam, Islamism and Arab/Muslim autocracies, and reacts in this way: «Being a writer in Algeria, today, is difficult. very expensive. The regime does not appreciate this profession at all. And the Islamists are growing again. Islamists do enjoy total freedom of expression. There are those who ask for absolute judicial immunity for the imams. “Its armed wing, today, is the regime in power.”
“Algerian editors tremble,” Daoud continues, adding: “The crime of traitor to the nation is invented against writers. Families, wives, children and relatives are persecuted. “In a dictatorship there is a risk of life imprisonment.”
In the case of Boualem Sansal, another very dangerous ‘crime’ can influence: taking political and diplomatic positions that Algiers considers ‘favorable’ to Morocco, in a terrain as sensitive as the former Spanish Sahara. Hence, perhaps, the very urgent position taken by Emmanuel Macron, who recently recognized Moroccan sovereignty over those territories, where France hopes to obtain important commercial contracts.
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