In Algeria, two complaints have been filed against the French-Algerian writer Kamel Daoud, winner of France’s most prestigious literary prize, and his wife, a therapist. These complaints allege that Kamel based a patient’s life story on his award-winning novel.
Kamel is the first Algerian novelist to win France’s most prestigious literary prize. He received this award this year for his novel ‘Houris’. The novel is based on the fictional story of a girl. During the civil war that raged in the country between 1992 and 2002, an Islamic fundamentalist attacked the girl’s neck, causing the girl to lose her voice.
In the conflict between the Algerian government and Islamic groups, 200,000 people died, thousands disappeared and suffered torture and sexual violence. A girl who survived this time said that the story of Kamel’s novel is based on her experiences.
What did the victim say?
The victim, Saada Arbane, using a speech assist device, told Algerian television that the story of Aube, the main character of the novel, is hers because she told it during treatment to her therapist, who is now the wife of the novelist. The novel has not been published in Algeria.
Speaking to the AFP news agency on Wednesday, his lawyer Fatima Benbraham said: “Right after the publication of the novel, we filed two complaints against Kamel Daoud and his wife Aicha Dehdouh.”
Benbraham said one complaint was filed by a national platform created to help victims of terrorism in Algeria and the other complaint was filed by the victim Arbane herself. Both complaints were filed before the court in Oran (Algeria), where the author and his wife live.
How many accusations were made against the novelist?
The lawyer said these complaints allege violation of medical confidentiality, as well as defamation of victims of terrorism and violation of the National Reconciliation Law, which prohibits publication from the civil war era.
The National Reconciliation Law imposes strict restrictions on what can be said about the conflict and states that anyone who uses the pain of a national tragedy to weaken Algeria can be punished by jail or a fine.
Benbraham said allegations against the author were first made in August, shortly before Dawood won the award. He said: “We didn’t want to talk about it, so it won’t be said that we did this to prevent the writer from being nominated for the award.”
‘The writer and his wife are in the spotlight’
The publishing house Editions Gallimard has published the novel by Kamel Daoud. Its owner, Antoine Gallimard, defended Kamel Dawood and his wife, claiming that they were being attacked in a planned manner.
Gallimard said: “Although the novel is inspired by the tragic events that took place in Algeria during the civil war of the 1990s, its plot, its characters and its heroine are completely fictional. Since the publication of his novel, Kamel Dawood has been part of the bad media campaign carried out by media close to the government and everyone knows it.
Gallimard further claimed that his book has been banned and his publishers have been denied entry to the Algerian book fair. Now his wife, who played no role in the novel, is in the spotlight. He said the professional integrity of Kamel’s wife is being attacked.
