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BERLIN: French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal is expected to remain in Berlin until at least the beginning of next week, a source with knowledge of his case told AFP Friday.
Sansal, 81, arrived for medical treatment in Germany on Wednesday after Algeria agreed to a German request that he be pardoned and released on humanitarian grounds.
The source described Sansal as “euphoric” over his pardon and release and said he was “well considering the circumstances.”
He had been given a five-year jail term in March on charges of undermining Algeria’s territorial integrity over remarks he made in the French media.
According to his family, Sansal has prostate cancer.
He was taken to Berlin’s military hospital immediately after landing in Germany on Wednesday evening.
On Thursday, a French magazine quoted fellow writer Kamel Daoud as saying Sansal could travel to France as early as Friday or Saturday.
However, the source in Berlin said on Friday that Sansal is expected to stay in hospital in Berlin “until the beginning of next week.”
“The plan is for him to be there for even longer,” the source said.
“Various tests are still being completed” at the hospital, after which the next steps will be discussed.
On Monday, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier asked his Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune to pardon Sansal, citing his “advanced age and fragile health condition.”
A prize-winning figure in North African modern francophone literature, Sansal is known for his criticism of Algerian authorities as well as of Islamists.
He acquired French nationality in 2024.
The case has also become entangled in diplomatic tensions between Paris and Algiers, which have led to the expulsion of officials on both sides, the recall of ambassadors and restrictions on holders of diplomatic visas.