Boualem Sansal refuses pardon and requests a new trial in Algeria

The months have passed, but Boualem Sansal says he still has not accepted his pardon. The Franco-Algerian writer, arrested in Algeria in November 2024 and sentenced to five years in prison before being pardoned almost a year later, says he wants to return to the country to be tried again. “I didn't want to be pardoned, I carry it as a shame, as an injury. Pardoned why? What did I do? I did nothing to be condemned,” he declared to Nice-Matin.

“I want to go back and be judged,” continues the octogenarian, who demands “a real trial with my lawyer and international observers to obtain a proper acquittal.” According to him, he would have informed Emmanuel Macron, the German president and Abdelmadjid Tebboune that he refused their pardon. “Keep your grace,” he would have replied.

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Upcoming action before international courts

Released in November 2025 after 361 days of detention, Boualem Sansal also continues to consider action against the Algerian president and his regime before international courts. “The file prepared by my lawyer is ready,” he assures the local daily. If the procedure has not yet been initiated, the writer affirms that this delay responds to a “request from the Élysée and the Quai d’Orsay”, who fear possible “retaliations” against the French journalist Christophe Gleizes, detained in Algeria.