Appeals Pour In From Paris Before The Verdict In Sansal’s Case

French authorities are exercising great caution in dealing with the case of the Franco-Algerian writer, Boualem Sansal, to avoid any potential escalation just days before the judicial decision on appeal is pronounced. Paris has leaned towards de-escalation for weeks, and the Minister of Interior, Bruno Retailleau, has completely disappeared from involvement in the crisis with Algeria, unlike before. He has been replaced by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, with his diplomatic and calm remarks.

Jean-Noël Barrot completely ignored the case of the Franco-Algerian writer, Boualem Sansal, during his appearance as a guest on the French news channel “LCI” in what appears to be a calculated decision.

This provoked the journalist who was interviewing him, as she directed a question to him about it, expressing her surprise that the French authorities had not addressed Sansal’s case during its crucial days.

The journalist embarrassed her country’s foreign minister, saying: “You addressed the issue of hostages in Iran, and the fleet breaking the siege on Gaza, but you did not utter a single word about the case of the writer Sansal, for whom the Public Prosecutor (at the Algiers Judicial Council) requested a ten-year prison sentence. Why this silence in the last hours?”

Here, Jean-Noël Barrot responded in a language full of pleading and appeal: “We look forward to a humanitarian gesture from the Algerian authorities towards the writer Sansal, taking into account his age and health condition, and we hope that this is what will happen,” this was said before the session for pronouncing the final decision at the Algiers Judicial Council, which is expected on Tuesday, July 1st.

The French hope that the Algerian authorities will respond to the repeated appeals from French President Emmanuel Macron on more than one occasion, as well as from his foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot, before this dialogue. Meanwhile, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had settled the matter when he affirmed on more than one occasion that the file is in the hands of justice, which is sovereign and independent.

In contrast, the French Foreign Minister revealed that the Algerian authorities allowed Sansal’s lawyer to travel to Algeria to attend the verdict session, saying: “His lawyer has arrived in Algeria to attend the trial session next Tuesday, and I hope there will be a humanitarian gesture.” Although the Parisian Foreign Minister defended the innocence of the Franco-Algerian writer: “We have always said that there is no justification for keeping our citizen in prison.”

The French official did not mention the name of Sansal’s lawyer who traveled to Algeria, nor whether it was the former French ambassador to Denmark, François Zimeray, knowing that the Algerian authorities had reservations about his travel to Algeria and did not grant him a visa for that purpose.

Therefore, he did not attend the preliminary session at the Dar El Beida court in the capital, nor did he attend the appeal session at the Algiers Judicial Council.

François Zimeray presents himself as being in charge of defending Boualem Sansal, despite the accused having dismissed all his lawyers and decided to defend himself alone, according to what the head of the Bar Association, Mohamed Baghdadi, said earlier. Nevertheless, the lawyer insists that he is part of Sansal’s defense team, commissioned by Gallimard publishing house, while Algerian law stipulates that the defense must be commissioned by the accused’s family.

This is the justification that the Algerian authorities may have relied on in not granting a visa to the French lawyer, in addition to Zimeray’s stances on the Palestinian issue, which Algeria considers a red line.

Algerian-French relations are showing a remarkable tendency towards de-escalation after nearly a year of severe political and diplomatic crisis not witnessed by the two capitals since independence. Economic visits between the two countries have resumed, and here we refer to the visit of Rodolphe Saadé, owner of the largest French shipping company (CMA CGM), to Algeria, and his reception by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, after the cancellation of the first visit that was scheduled for the first week of last April.