While some prominent authors and European politicians have come to Sansal’s defence, his unjust detention has largely met with indifference, writes Jean-Michel Blanquer. [GETTY]
In an age when freedom of expression is increasingly under threat, exemplary voices such as Boualem Sansal are needed more than ever. The 75-year-old Algerian novelist and essayist, who published his first book in 1999 and became a French citizen in early 2024, has long criticised authoritarianism and defended liberal values, speaking truth to power with a clarity that unnerves despots and inspires democrats.
Today, Sansal urgently requires not only our attention, but also our solidarity.
On November 16, Algerian authorities arrested Sansal at Algiers airport on unfounded charges. Since then, the cancer-stricken writer has been isolated from the outside world and denied proper medical care – a violation of a fundamental human right. This arbitrary arrest is a calculated attempt to silence an individual who has consistently spoken out against Algeria’s autocratic and corrupt regime.
While some prominent authors and European politicians have come to Sansal’s defence, his unjust detention has largely met with indifference. In mid-December, an Algerian appeals court rejected a request for his release. This led Sansal to take desperate measures: in late February, he began a hunger strike, the ultimate act of resistance for those whom powerful governments seek to erase.
It is above all an appeal to the world to recognise his plight. Each day that passes without action brings him closer to irreversible harm.
This is not merely a personal tragedy. Sansal is as much a moral guide as a writer. Since the publication of his first novel, Le serment des barbares (The Barbarians’ Oath), he has consistently challenged the political stagnation and religious extremism that has plagued Algeria in recent decades.
His 2015 dystopian masterpiece, 2084: The End of the World, warned of creeping authoritarianism under the guise of ideological purity – a warning that has proved prescient in an era of besieged democracy.
Despite being censored, threatened, and ostracised, Sansal’s commitment to the truth has never wavered. His words resonate far beyond Algeria and France because they touch on universal principles: the right to speak without fear, to question authority, and to envision a freer world.
And his struggle represents more than a diplomatic spat between two countries. It is emblematic of a broader global fight for intellectual freedom and democratic ideals.
Individual acts of defiance throughout history have come to symbolise larger struggles for liberty. Émile Zola’s famous open letter “J’Accuse” exposed the injustice of the Dreyfus Affair. Václav Havel’s Charter 77, a human-rights manifesto co-written with other Czech dissidents, became a lodestar for democratic resistance in Eastern Europe. Sansal follows in this tradition. His hunger strike is a reminder that silence in the face of oppression makes us complicit.
The international community must not remain indifferent. While Sansal’s dual nationality has highlighted – and intensified – tensions between France and Algeria, his detention is a test of our collective commitment to human rights and liberal values.
More cultural and intellectual institutions and figures – especially writers and journalists – and civil-society organisations must speak out. Governments that claim to care about human freedom and dignity must use their influence to demand Sansal’s immediate release and access to appropriate medical care.
Supporting Sansal demands action: diplomatic channels must be mobilised, petitions signed, and public campaigns launched. Expressions of concern are not enough. We must stand up for a man whose fate embodies the global fight for free expression.
To protect the democratic ideals that Sansal has consistently upheld requires challenging the authoritarian practice of silencing dissent through arbitrary detention and deliberate neglect and mistreatment.
Time is running out for Sansal. Abandoning this courageous writer would be another blow to the principles that underpin open societies. It would not be the first time that the world has rallied behind an individual for their acts of defiance against an oppressive regime. In that sense, Sansal would join a long lineage of resistance, from Nelson Mandela to Liu Xiaobo. But we must defend his life and dignity before it is too late.
Jean-Michel Blanquer, a former French minister of education (2017-22), is Professor of Constitutional Law at Panthéon-Assas University Paris II and President of the Laboratoire de la République.
This article originally appeared on Project Syndicate.
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