Milan, 1 July (LaPresse) – The Algiers Court of Appeal this morning confirmed the five-year prison sentence handed down to French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, along with a fine of 500,000 dinars (approximately 3,500 euros). Sansal had already been convicted in the first instance on 27 March for “threatening national unity”, “insulting a constituted body”, “practices that could harm the national economy” and “possession of publications threatening the security of the country”.Following the court's ruling, attention now turns to Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the only person authorised to grant clemency. Paris is hoping for a ‘humanitarian gesture’, as Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has often repeated, who would like the Algerian head of state to intervene in granting clemency on 5 July, the 63rd anniversary of the country's independence.