Kamel Daoud's place is in Italy
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The writer cancelled his visit to Italy fearing he would be arrested upon arrival at Milan airport and extradited to his country of origin. That democratic and liberal countries are hostages to the paranoia of Algiers is not only absurd, it is horrifying
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Kamel Daoud will not come to Italy. Invited to the Milanesiana, the Algerian writer, winner of the Goncourt for “Houris” (Gallimard and soon Nave di Teseo), has chosen to cancel the visit, fearing that he would be arrested upon arrival at Milan airport, brought before a judge and extradited to his country of origin, where he is being tried . This information was revealed by the Corriere della Sera and confirmed by the Figaro.
Daoud has been the subject of multiple lawsuits by the Algerian regime, in particular for “violation of the law on national reconciliation”. The accusation is based on a 2005 law, adopted during Bouteflika’s term, which provides for a sentence of three to five years for “anyone who, through statements, writings or any other act, uses or exploits the wounds of the national tragedy to undermine institutions, weaken the state, harm the honor of its agents who have served it or tarnish Algeria’s image internationally” .
The publication of the book has been banned in Algeria. In March and May, the intellectual was the subject of two international arrest warrants issued by a judge in Oran, a city in western Algeria, for the publication of the award-winning novel. Meanwhile, the Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal remains in prison, sentenced to five years. "We will not run the risk of having two Boualem Sansals instead of one," a friend Daoud told Le Figaro. The Goncourt winner had also planned a trip to China in the coming weeks. Given the Asian giant's relations with Algeria, he chose to cancel this visit as well. That democratic and liberal countries are hostages to Algiers' paranoia is not only absurd, it is horrifying.
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