What changed

B100090/2025

B100088/2025

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

The European Parliament,

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

A. whereas on 16 November 2024, Boualem Sansal, internationally renowned French-Algerian writer, was arrested by the police at Algiers airport on charges of “undermining state security”; whereas the health situation of the 75-year-old author is very fragile; whereas the charges stem from comments that Sansal made about the colonial-era borders between Algeria and Morocco, accusing the Algerian government of inventing the Polisario Front to destabilise Morocco;

– having regard to its previous human rights resolutions on Algeria,

B. whereas Boualem Sansal has been criticising the Algerian regime for decades; whereas the author has reported extensively on the political and social grievances in Algeria, the ongoing and everyday violence of the Islamists, and the intimidation of the government against dissidents; whereas Sansal has warned against the dangers of political Islam and the Islamisation of France and has also pointed at the human tragedies surrounding migration movements;

A. whereas on 16 November 2024, Boualem Sansal, a 75 years old Franco-Algerian writer and staunch critic of the Algerian regime, was arrested by Algerian police on the false charge of "undermining state security and territorial integrity" and was labelled an “imposter sent by France” by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune;

C. whereas Christians in Algeria endure multiple forms of discrimination in their daily lives; whereas of the 47 churches that belong to the Protestant Church in Algeria, only one remains open;

B. whereas relations between France and Algeria are at their lowest point following France's recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara in July 2024; whereas Boualem Sansal’s arbitrary arrest constitutes a political retaliation against France and is also a consequence of his condemnation of the authoritarian Algerian regime and the rise of Islamism;

D. whereas relations between the EU and Algeria are based on the 2002 Association Agreement, that entered into force in 2005; whereas the EU-Algeria partnership enshrines political dialogue, the rule of law and legal and judicial cooperation; whereas EU bilateral allocation to Algeria for 2021-2024 amounts to 160 million Euro and is complemented by other programmes to promote among other things the protection of individual rights (1.6 million Euro for 2021-2024);

C. whereas France has demanded his immediate release; whereas Sansal’s appeal to end his detention was rejected on 29 December 2024; whereas his lawyer has not been authorized to enter Algerian territory;

1. Is of the opinion that nobody should be detained for uttering an opinion; calls for the immediate release of Boualem Sansal; welcomes, in this regard, the petition of prominent writers including the likes of Kamel Daoud, Salman Rushdie and Orhan Pamuk;

D. whereas, following the surge of diplomatic tensions between Paris and Algiers, several Algerian citizens residing in France have expressed their outrage against France, in violent terms, including calling for terrorist actions; whereas several of these individuals were deported to Algeria, only to be denied entry by Algerian authorities and subsequently returned to France;

2. Expresses its concern about the discrimination against the Christian minority and the closure of non-Muslim places of worship in Algeria; calls, in this regard, for a thorough evaluation and monitoring of the financial assistance that has been disbursed to Algeria to promote the protection of rights of people belonging to religious minorities;

E. whereas the return rate of Algerian nationals from the EU stood at 10% in 2024, mostly because Algeria refuses to issue emergency travel documents; whereas under Article 12(4) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), signatories, including Algeria, are legally obligated to allow their nationals to return to their country of origin;

3. Calls on the Algerian authorities to refrain from strong verbal accusations against Member States of the EU; condemns the use of the law and legal procedures by Algerian authorities to try to silence or sanction a European Parliament Member for giving political comments;

F. whereas, since 2005, Algeria is a member of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership; whereas, between 2021 and 2024, Algeria has received 172 million euros in EU funding under the European Neighbourhood Instrument;

4. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the European External Action Service, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and the President, government and parliament of Algeria.

1. Calls for the immediate and unconditional release of the political prisonner Boualem Sansal, who is the hostage of deteriorating diplomatic relations between France and Algeria;

2. Recalls Algeria’s obligations to uphold freedom of expression, media freedom, the promotion of fundamental rights, including religious freedom, under Article 2 of the 2005 Euro-Mediterranean Partnership;

3. Calls on the EU and its Member States to stand by France until the release of Boualem Sansal, including by taking economic and diplomatic actions against Algeria; calls on the Commission to suspend EU funding under the NDICI, to restrict visa issuance to Algerian citizens, particularly to Algerian officials, and to make the forthcoming 2025 revision of the EU-Algeria Partnership conditional on the release of Boualem Sansal;

4. Reminds that Algerians represent, in France, the biggest population of illegal immigrants sentenced to expulsion and of foreign prisoners; calls on Member States to develop a joint strategy to compel countries of origin to deliver emergency travel documents to their nationals that are to be expelled from the EU, including to criminals and illegal immigrants;

5. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Governments and Parliaments of Member States and the Government and Parliament of Algeria;