Algeria sentences author Kamel Daoud to five years in prison over novel

A court in Oran, Algeria, sentenced French-Algerian author Kamel Daoud and his wife, psychiatrist Aïcha Dahdouh, to five years in prison over a case linked to his novel *Houris*. The ruling matters because it concerns both an allegation that a real woman’s story was used without her consent and restrictions on public discussion of Algeria’s civil war.

The woman, Saâda Arbane, says the novel drew on her experiences, which she had shared with Dahdouh during treatment. Daoud and Dahdouh were sentenced in absentia; reports say each was also fined 300,000 Algerian dinars. *Houris*, which depicts a survivor of violence during the civil war, won France’s Prix Goncourt in 2024.