Algeria: Boualem Sansal's Appeal Is Scheduled for 24 June

Sentenced on 27 March to five years in prison, the French-Algerian writer requested a postponement of the trial in order to allow himself time to form his defence.

The 80-year-old novelist was sentenced to five years in prison in Algeria and has been detained since 16 November in Algiers.

Boualem Sansal's appeal trial has been postponed until June 24, according to several Algerian and French media sources. The postponement was decided to allow the accused to prepare his defense in this second trial, after he and the civil party filed an appeal. The public prosecutor requested a 10-year prison sentence for him, while the judge handed down a five-year sentence, accompanied by a fine of 500,000 DA. The trial attracted widespread att…

His trial was postponed for two months to allow him to "constitute his defence".

Algeria and France have been in a diplomatic crisis since last summer, considered one of the most serious since the Algerian war.

The writer had been sentenced to five years in prison at first instance for violating the integrity of Algerian territory.