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French-Algerian Author Kamel Daoud Says Algeria Sentenced Him to 3 Years for Award-Winning Novel
Daoud was fined 5 million Algerian dinars and faces arrest warrants after being convicted of undermining national unity, according to court and his statement.
- On Tuesday, French-Algerian author Kamel Daoud announced an Algerian court convicted him over his novel Houris, sentencing him to three years in prison and imposing a 5 million dinar fine, equivalent to $38,000.
- Authorities cited the 2005 Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation, which Daoud claims prohibits public mention of the civil war despite the conflict leaving nearly 200,000 dead according to estimates.
- Following Houris's publication, Arbane accused Daoud of "stealing" her story and alleged on television that his work constituted an "invasion of her privacy," prompting lawyers to invoke the Charter against him.
- Beyond the conviction, Algeria issued two international arrest warrants in May 2025 and threatened to strip Daoud of his nationality, signifying ongoing cross-border enforcement efforts against the author.
- French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal faced similar legal pressure and received a humanitarian pardon after an appeal by Germany's president, returning to France last year after serving one year in prison.
42 Articles
42 Articles
»Huris«, a novel about a woman who survived the Algerian civil war, brought the most important French literary prize to Kamel Daoud. Now the writer has been sentenced to prison in absentia.
The French-Algerian writer Kamel Daoud announced on Wednesday that he had been sentenced in absentia to three years in prison in Algeria, where he was prosecuted for his novel Houris, Prix Goncourt in 2024. ...
The winner of the Prix Goncourt, the most important literary prize in France, wrote the novel Houris, inspired by the Algerian Civil War (1991–2002). Writing about it is forbidden in Algeria.
The algeriske exilförfattaren och Goncourtpristagaren Kamel Daoud har dömts tillfangelse och boter i hemlandet Algeriet, skriver han själv på X.
Prize-winning book 'Houris' brings prison term for French-Algerian author Kamel Daoud
French-Algerian author Kamel Daoud says he has been sentenced in Algeria to three years in prison and fined over his award-winning novel “Houris,” which revisits the country’s civil war. The ruling reflects…
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