Algeria sentences writer Kamel Daoud to five years over novel

An Algerian court on Tuesday sentenced in absentia writer Kamel Daoud and his wife, both in France, to five years in prison on charges of using confidential medical information in his novel "Houris," reports said.

Daoud and Aicha Dahdouh were sentenced in absentia for the disclosure of medical secrets and invasion of privacy, Algerian newspaper El Khabar reported. The case stemmed from a complaint filed by an Algerian woman alleging that the prizewinning novel unlawfully plagiarised facts from her life that she told Dahdouh, who was her psychotherapist.

Daoud, who writes for right-wing magazine Le Point, had denied his novel used confidential information based on the woman's life. "Houris", awarded France's top literary prize Prix Goncourt in 2024, tells the story of a woman who loses her voice when an Islamist cuts her throat during Algeria's 1990s war.

Complaints filed by Saada Arbane outlined several alleged similarities between her and the novel's protagonist, including their breathing tube, slashed throats, identical scar and tattoos, and a hair salon they both owned.

Dahdouh has denied any wrongdoing, although she confirmed that she had been Arbane's psychotherapist in Algeria. In a statement sent to AFP last month, Dahdouh distanced herself from Daoud, saying his "voice should not silence (hers)", adding that she disagreed with him on "three essential matters: Algeria, Islam, and Palestine".

In an interview with French media outlet Mediapart published Monday, Dahdouh said she and Daoud had begun divorce proceedings. Daoud was already sentenced in a separate case to three years in prison over "Houris" in April.