BERLIN: German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Monday urged his Algerian counterpart to pardon the Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who was given a five-year jail term in March for harming national unity.
Steinmeier’s office said he had asked Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to pardon Sansal as “a humanitarian gesture.”
“Given Sansal’s advanced age and fragile health condition” Steinmeier also “offered Sansal’s relocation to Germany and subsequent medical care in our country.”
“It would reflect my long-standing personal relationship with President Tebboune and the good relations between our countries.”
The Algerian presidency confirmed that Steinmeier has asked Tebboune to pardon the writer as a “humanitarian gesture” — and the request was also reported on Algerian television.
