From RFI · · 1m 40s
Algerian court sentences Daoud to five years over novel
Franco-Algerian writer Kamel Daoud and his psychiatrist wife are convicted of breaching confidentiality over his Prix Goncourt-winning novel Houris, which a survivor claims drew on her medical history without consent.
In brief
Franco-Algerian writer Kamel Daoud and his psychiatrist wife are convicted of breaching confidentiality over his Prix Goncourt-winning novel Houris, which a survivor claims drew on her medical history without consent. An Algerian court sentenced writer Kamel Daoud and his wife to five years in prison for allegedly…
Writer and wife convicted in Algeria
Franco-Algerian writer Kamel Daoud and his wife, psychiatrist Aïcha Dahdouh, were each sentenced to five years in prison by an Algerian court on Tuesday. They were convicted of breaching professional confidentiality and invading privacy.
The novel at the centre of the case
Daoud won France's prestigious Prix Goncourt literary award for his novel Houris in two thousand twenty-four.
Survivor claims her story was used
Saâda Arbane, who survived an Islamist attack during the civil war, filed the complaint. She claims the character's experiences closely resemble her own, including a slashed throat, a distinctive scar, a breathing tube, tattoos and…
Daoud denies the allegations
Daoud has consistently denied using confidential medical information in writing the novel. He reacted to the verdict on social media, denouncing what he called a trial without defence or justice.
“a trial without defence or justice”
Wife distances herself from writer
Daoud and Dahdouh have begun divorce proceedings. In an interview with Mediapart published on Monday, Dahdouh acknowledged noticing numerous similarities between the novel and her former patient's experiences but denied breaching medical confidentiality.
Further legal proceedings in France
In September, a Paris court acquitted Daoud in a defamation case brought by Arbane over comments he made in an interview with Le Figaro.Further proceedings relating to the allegations are scheduled in France in December.
The takeaway
An Algerian court sentenced writer Kamel Daoud and his wife to five years in prison for allegedly using a survivor's confidential medical history in his award-winning novel without consent.
