Story perspectives
Novelist Boualem Sansal Pardoned Amid Algeria's Diplomatic Crisis
1/30/2026
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Story summary
- Boualem Sansal (French-Algerian novelist) was jailed in Algeria amid a diplomatic crisis over Western Sahara.
- Sansal was pardoned by Algeria's president after a year in prison.
- Sansal was elected to the Académie française.
- Sansal received the City of Strasbourg Medal in eastern France on January 26, 2026.
- Christophe Gleizes remains imprisoned in Algeria for "glorifying terrorism."
