Human Rights Activists To Echorouk: “Writer Boualem Sensal Betrayed Algeria Twice”

Depriving the Algerian writer Boualem Sansal from the Algerian citizenship is expected and can be achieved in a legal framework, based on his visit to Israel and his quest for cultural normalization with the Zionist entity, because this is contrary to the general trend of Algeria’s policy that refuses to normalize relationships with Israel, Algerian Human Rights Activists told Echorouk.

“Government can take an official decision that would follow Sansal by the public prosecution, which has the legal authority, and by Article 8 and 9 of the Algerian Penal Code, the political and civil rights can be taken from him as a complementary punishment”.

Lawyer, Ibrahim Bhlouli, who is also Professor of Law at the Faculty of Ben Aknoun in Algiers, told Echorouk; “Writer Boualem Sansal, although he is an isolated person but he represents only himself, as he does neither belong to an administrative party, nor to a popular organization, but he committed two crimes against the Algerian sovereignty. First he visited Israel in the framework of an official festival of literature and his participation in discussion with Jewish writers about the dialogue of cultures, where he took the initiative in the cultural normalization with the Zionist entity, despite that Algeria has wise political decision that would prevent the normalization of relationships with Israel, and the best evidence is the absence of Algerian representatives in all occasions and demonstrations and official meetings, which bring the Israelis”.

“Algerian state should take an explicit position on every national figure that visits Israel in the framework of sympathy with the official bodies, which is classified as part of normalization. Such actions are considered a provocation for the Algerian people and a violation of the state, and a flagrant violation of public policy”.

“Public prosecutor has a legal qualification authority, in the case of proving that an Algerian visits Israel and gives a service for this country, or realized a goal for it, directly or indirectly, and this can be classified as part of the grand treason that ends to a felony which verdict is life imprisonment or death penalty, and the complementary death which ends with the withdrawal of nationality from the accused”.

With regard to the second offense in which Sensal is involved, Bahlouli said, “Works of the concerned, especially the last one, enters in the framework of compromising the sovereignty of the state, insulting symbols, and the public prosecution has the right and legal qualification for the criminal criminal follow-up, and the issuance of a supplementary rule that would strip Sansal from his citizenship”.