Algerian writer Kamel Daoud sentenced to three years in prison over civil war novel

Algerian journalist and writer Kamel Daoud announced he has been sentenced in absentia to three years in prison and a fine of 5 million Algerian dinars (over €32,000) for his novel "Houris," which won the prestigious French literary prize Goncourt in 2024. The conviction stems from a complaint filed by an Algerian organization supporting victims of terrorism, citing a violation of the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation, a law enacted after Algeria's civil war (1992–2002) that prohibits public discussion of the conflict. Daoud faces a second trial brought by Saâda Arbane, an Algerian woman and former patient of his wife (a psychiatrist), who accuses him of basing the novel's plot on her personal story without consent. Two international arrest warrants have been issued by Algeria in 2025. "Houris" tells the story of a girl left mute after a throat cut during the civil war, a period when the government and army used fear of violence to suppress rebellion and contain the Arab Spring uprisings.