Overview
- Speaking on France 2 and France Inter, the 81-year-old said he now “controls each of his words” and finds the return to freedom “complicated.”
- He recounted being handcuffed and hooded on arrest, held six days in a secret location, then isolated in prison without a lawyer, with limited reading and unable to write.
- He reported successful treatment for prostate cancer, said he is in good health, and returned to France after a Berlin medical transfer following a pardon granted by President Tebboune after German mediation.
- He reiterated support for reconciliation between France and Algeria and suggested the Western Sahara stance and rising ultranationalism helped drive his prosecution.
- He voiced fear for his family and drew attention to journalist Christophe Gleizes, whose appeal in Algeria is set for December 3, while saying a return visit to Algeria would serve as a personal “reparation.”