What changed

B100087/2025

B100092/2025

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on the case of Boualem Sansal in Algeria

The European Parliament,

– having regard to Rule 150 of its Rulesprevious ofresolutions Procedure,on Algeria,

A. whereas Boualem Sansal, a 75-year-old French-Algerian novelist, was arrested in November 2024 at Algiers airport and charged with "endangering the nation" under Article 87bis of Algeria’s Penal Code, which has also been used to prosecute many Algerian prisoners of opinion including journalists, activists, and human rights defenders;

– having regard to Rule 150(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

B. whereas Algerian authorities may have arrested Sansal in reaction to his public expression of opinions, which are considered protected speech according to international human rights law and should not be criminalized;

A. whereas on 16 November 2024 Algerian authorities arrested French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal upon his arrival at Algiers airport, without giving a date to be presented before the public prosecutor; whereas his whereabouts remained unknown for over a week, during which he was denied access to his family and legal counsel, contrary to international law; whereas Boualem Sansal was subjected to interrogations in the absence of his lawyer, in violation of his right to a fair trial; whereas he was subsequently charged with national security-related offences under article 87bis of the Algerian Penal Code, a provision frequently used against government critics, including human rights defenders; whereas Boualem Sansal has been hospitalised since mid-December;

C. whereas according to Algerian human rights defenders, at least 214 activists, journalists, and defenders are imprisoned for exercising their rights;

B. whereas new Penal Code amendments adopted on 28 April 2024 have introduced significant restrictions on freedom of expression, which also include provisions that broaden criminal liability by targeting expressions that harm ‘the image of the security services and their agents’ failing to recognise the importance of free expression, especially in the context of public interest;

1. Calls for the immediate and unconditional release and acquittal of Boualem Sansal and all other activists, journalists, human rights defenders and individuals detained or sentenced for exercising their rights to freedom of opinion and expression, including Abdelwakil Blamm and Tadjadit Mohamed;

C. whereas freedom of expression has deteriorated, with Algeria falling to 139th in the 2024 Press freedom Index; whereas censorship, trials and severe punishment of independent media, often accused of plotting with foreign powers against national security, continue to worsen;

2. Reiterates the European Parliament´s grave concern about the trend of increasing repression of peaceful dissent inside and outside of Algeria’s borders, causing the weakening or disappearance of critical civil society organizations and the harassment of dissenting voices;

D. whereas the EU has disbursed 213 million euros between 2021 and 2024 to Algeria under the Multiannual Indicative Program;

3. Express the European Parliament's solidarity with Algerians who have been peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association, and assembly, advocating for democracy, civilian governance, popular sovereignty, the rule of law, social justice, and gender equality;

1. Condemns the arrest and detention of Boualem Sansal and calls for his immediate and unconditional release, as well as all other political prisoners ; urges the Algerian authorities to grant them adequate access to his family and a lawyer of his choice; calls on the Algerian authorities to uphold Algeria’s international obligations to protect the right to freedom of expression and to put a stop to the arrest and detention of political activists, journalists, and human rights defenders, or anyone who expresses a dissenting view or criticism of the government inside and outside of Algeria’s borders;

4. Reminds Algeria of its commitments made by ratifying international human rights treaties and conventions, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), that protect human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of expression; highlights that these values that are also at the core of the relations between the European Union and Algeria, as reflected in the EU-Algeria Association Agreement;

2. Calls on the authorities to amend the charges in the Penal Code used to criminalize the right to freedom of expression, including Articles 87bis, 95bis, 144, 146, 149bis 21 and 196bis, and to review Law No. 14-04 on Audio-visual Activity to bring it into conformity with international human rights standards according to the treaties and conventions Algeria has ratified;

5. Urges the Algerian authorities to end reprisals, intimidation, and interference by executive authorities against lawyers and judiciary members handling cases of individuals detained for exercising their rights to freedom of association, expression, peaceful assembly, and belief;

3. Reiterates, as jointly agreed in the EU-Algeria Partnership Priorities, the importance of a pluralist press to consolidate the rule of law and fundamental freedoms such as freedom of expression; stresses that renewing this agreement must be based upon continued and substantial progress in the aforementioned domains and underscores that all future disbursement of EU funds should go hand in hand with progress made in this regard;

6. Welcomes the speech of HR/VP Borrell from 27 November 2024, calling for the release of Boualem Sansal and calls on all EU institutions and Member States to strongly and openly condemn the Algerian authorities’ crackdown on the freedom of expression;

4. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the VP/HR, the Council, the Commission, the EU Delegation in Algiers, the Government of Algeria.

7. Calls on the European Commission and EU Member States to increase their efforts to raise all individual cases with the Algerian authorities on the bilateral, multilateral and EU levels and to increase support to human rights defenders, democracy activists and journalists;

8. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the HR/VP, and the Government and Parliament of Algeria, and asks that it be translated into Arabic;