Why Algiers’ Military Regime Will Release Boualem Sansal

The European Parliament is due to meet tomorrow to discuss the illegal arrest of French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, against the backdrop of an aggressive media campaign in Algeria targeting intellectuals such as Sansal and Kamel Daoud. While Algerian state media attempt to portray this case as a “right-wing conspiracy” linked to allegedly pro-Zionist and Macronist lobbies, the European Parliament, representing political and ethnic diversity across Europe, will demand Sansal’s immediate and unconditional release.
Scheduled for Wednesday November 27, 2024 (procedure 2024/2963(RSP)), this parliamentary session could have far-reaching diplomatic and economic implications for EU-Algeria relations. Although the expected resolution is non-binding, it comes against a backdrop of heightened international scrutiny of Algeria’s human rights violations and military spending. This debate could also advance the modification of the EU-Algeria Association Agreement or a reassessment of development aid programs, even if the Algerian military regime often downplays the impact of such economic pressure on its authoritarian strategy.

However, the wider implications of these resolutions will extend beyond Europe. The future US administration under Donald Trump and his Secretary of State Marco Rubio are expected to align their diplomacy with that of the European Union (EU). Rubio, who wanted to activate the CAATSA law following the $7 billion Algerian-Russian arms contract signed in 2021, will take radical measures: firstly, the opening of the US Consulate in Dakhla, then the classification of the Polisario as a terrorist organization. Further warnings are likely to come from the United States and NATO, which is also closely monitoring the situation. A recent NATO delegation to Algiers explicitly questioned President Tebboune and General Chengriha about the sudden escalation of Algeria’s military budget.
Diplomatic pressure and threats from the military regime in Algiers
The European Parliament (EP) has the power to multiply diplomatic and political pressure points, including by organizing public debates and statements that indirectly influence the European Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS). The EP can recommend actions and call on national governments to conduct inquiries and impose additional sanctions or investigations. These initiatives are aimed at intensifying surveillance and accountability for clandestine actions such as those attributed to Algeria.
Member countries including France and Spain have identified Algeria as a clandestine threat, placing it in the same group as Russia and Iran. This includes risks linked to sabotage, social polarization, riots, political disruption and even targeted kidnapping or assassination. As revealed in a recent French Senate report, since withdrawn from the public domain, directed by the DGSI, Algeria also excels in exploiting international crises, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, to provoke unrest.
The military regime in Algiers and its intelligence services perceived as a clandestine threat to France
Algeria is ranked in the same group as Iran and Russia in terms of clandestine threats. An account of a Senate hearing by DGSI director Céline Berthon was withdrawn shortly after publication. The service’s desire to remain discreet about the countries it monitors for foreign interference may explain this about-turn. The upstream additions were worked on with the service and MPs, and faced intense lobbying from lawyers opposed to the creation of a register listing their foreign clients. Algeria is in the same group as Russia, where its main threats are sabotage, polarization, and possible kidnapping and political assassination, similar to the Iranian method, including politicization and exploitation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to create chaos.
There is also debate in French diplomatic circles about the abolition of Visa Exemptions for Algerian diplomats: Algerian dignitaries and their families, often holders of diplomatic passports, will have to comply with revised rules for entry into France. Algiers anticipated this change by withdrawing certain diplomatic passports from former ministers such as Abdelaziz Rahabi, Ali Benflis, Mokdad Sifi and Ahmed Ghozali, and this measure is set to be extended to military officials. There is also talk of declassifying the DST archives, particularly those relating to the black decade. If this were to happen, it would be, along with the American action of recognizing Polisario as a terrorist entity, as the coup de grâce to the military regime in Algiers.
Controlling the role of the Diaspora
Algiers uses institutions such as the Paris Mosque, described by some observers as a branch of Algerian intelligence, with its dean, Chems Eddine Hafiz, playing a key role in Franco-Algerian lobbying and maintaining close links with Algerian intelligence services. He was received twice by Tebboune before and after the French legislative elections. In an interview with the national press a few weeks ago, President Tebboune openly acknowledged the use of the Algerian diaspora to exert pressure on France, particularly in polarizing social issues. In response, the French authorities are stepping up financial surveillance, notably by the Inspectorate General of Finances, as Algerians bring cash into France. Algiers reacted by reducing the annual foreign currency exchange ceiling to 7500 euros.
Increased surveillance of Algerian agents in Europe and financial flows
Foreign residents suspected of acting against Europe’s interests could have their status revoked, including political refugees. This surveillance includes individuals from countries such as China, Russia and Algeria. The TRACFIN service investigates the opaque financial circuits supporting these activities, including via crypto-currencies. A recent example includes a territorial intelligence officer in Seine-Saint-Denis who had his clearance revoked for alleged links with Algerian and Moroccan services.
Spain, meanwhile, is dealing with similar activities. An investigation by the Guardia Civil revealed an attempt to kidnap and exfiltrate Hichem Aboud, a notorious critic of the Algerian regime. These actions are in addition to the use of illegal immigration as a lever for political pressure, according to a Spanish CNI report on the instrumentalization of illegal immigration by the military regime in Algeria.

The European Parliament will therefore call for investigations into Algeria’s alleged clandestine activities on European soil, including two documented kidnapping attempts such as that of Amir Boukhors in France, or Hichem Aboud in Spain, the attack on Algerian demonstrators which injured a French policeman, and the exploitation of immigration policies for political pressure. These actions are well documented by French anti-terrorist units and Spanish intelligence services, underlining the need for a robust response to Algerian covert operations.
Counter-propaganda
General Abdelkader Haddad, appointed by President Tebboune in an undisclosed decree, has taken steps to dismantle the Centre de Communication et de Diffusion, once a highly influential under Colonel Lakhdar Bouzid, alias Faouzi. The European External Action Service is also stepping up its monitoring of Algerian media disinformation, with initiatives such as EUvsDisinfo widening their focus to include Algerian propaganda, alongside that of Russia and other regimes threatening democratic values.
Facilitating investigations and access to intelligence data for justice and investigators
Structural changes are underway to strengthen the fight against Algerian clandestine activities. Former French anti-terrorist prosecutor Jean-François Ricard has recommended the formal establishment of a national prosecutor’s office dedicated to the fight against organized crime. France speeds up coordination between its intelligence services, the Parquet National Financier and the Anti-Corruption Agency. The creation of the Parquet National de Lutte contre la Criminalité Organisée, integrating the DGSI’s big data tools, marks a significant step forward. These tools, initially designed for anti-terrorist investigations, should enable judges to directly access complex data in order to legally prosecute individuals involved in illegal operations, as well as journalists and investigative reporters. The evidence gathered could not only facilitate prosecutions but also be made public, further exposing Algeria’s covert influence in Europe.
The military regime’s misconception of opposition as mere hostility from the French right, rather than recognition of the growing international consensus against their methods, reveals a delusional disconnect from reality and blindness. Under the crushing weight of international pressure and the legal and financial sanctions affecting its personal clientelist interests, the military regime in Algiers will be forced to abandon its intransigent stance and release Boualem Sansal. This capitulation, although presented as an act of pragmatism, in reality reveals a forced submission to the unity of democracies, just as it was the case with the release of Khaled Drareni and Ihsane El Kadi.

Sources:
Procedure File: 2024/2963(RSP), European Parliament.
President Metsola calls for an end to violence against women, European Parliament News.
Rubio calls for sanctions on Algerian purchase of Russian weapons, Rubio Senate Office.
NATO PA press tweet, NATO Parliamentary Assembly.
Passeports diplomatiques : l’arme du régime d’Alger, Le360.
Question No. 16-18504 at the Assemblée Nationale, Assemblée Nationale.
La Grande Mosquée de Paris dénonce la libération progressive d’une parole raciste et haineuse, FranceInfo.
Déclaration de devises par les voyageurs: les réserves d’un député des Algériens de France, TSA Algérie.
Blanchiment : TRACFIN a accès sans restriction à tous les comptes bancaires en France, La Tribune.
CNI alerta al Gobierno: Argelia prepara avalancha de 10.000 inmigrantes ilegales, El Confidencial Digital.
Kidnapping d’Amir DZ : Les renseignements extérieurs algériens dans le viseur des enquêteurs, Le360.
Hichem Aboud tells in Watchtower the details of his kidnapping in Spain, Atalayar.
EUvsDisinfo, EUvsDisinfo.
European Parliament Resolution TA-9-2023-0198 (FR), European Parliament.
European Parliament Resolution TA-9-2023-0198 (EN), European Parliament.