ALGIERS: Algeria’s prosecutor general sought at an appeal hearing on Tuesday 10 years in prison for novelist Boualem Sansal, doubling his current sentence, an AFP journalist in the courtroom reported.

The dual Algerian French writer, whose case has been at the heart of a diplomatic row between Paris and Algiers, was sentenced to five years imprisonment on March 27.

A verdict is expected on July 1.

Sansal, 80, was arrested in November at the Algiers airport and has been detained since for undermining Algeria’s territorial integrity.

This came after he said in an interview with a far-right French media outlet that France unfairly ceded Moroccan territory to Algeria during the 1830-1962 colonial era.

The statement was viewed by Algeria as an affront to its national sovereignty and echoed a long-standing Moroccan claim.

On Tuesday, Sansal appeared before the judge without legal representation after authorities said he wished to defend himself.

“The Algerian Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and conscience,” he told the court during the roughly 20-minute hearing, seemingly in good health. “This makes no sense.”

Defending the remarks he made to French far-right media on Algeria’s borders, he said: “Fortunately, after independence in 1962, the African Union declared that inherited colonial borders are inviolable.”

Also questioned on some of his books, Sansal answered: “We are holding a trial over literature? Where are we headed?“

According to his relatives, Sansal has been undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, and many feared his health would deteriorate in prison.

French President Emmanuel Macron has urged his Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune to show “mercy and humanity” toward Sansal.

But Algiers has insisted that the writer has been afforded due process.

His conviction and sentence further frayed ties between Paris and Algiers, already strained by migration issues and Macron’s recognition last year of Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, which is claimed by the Algeria-backed pro-independence Polisario Front.

Charges against the writer include “undermining national unity,” “insulting state institutions,” “harming the national economy,” and “possessing media and publications threatening the country’s security and stability.”

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday thanked Turkmenistan and promised cooperation with the authoritarian state after it let US citizens cross through as they fled Iran following Israeli strikes.

Turkmenistan, one of the world’s most closed and authoritarian countries, initially balked at allowing Americans to cross but agreed over the weekend following appeals from Washington, officials said.

Rubio, in his call with Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov, “expressed gratitude for Turkmenistan’s cooperation,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.

Rubio said he “looks forward to further partnership with Turkmenistan, including expanding economic and commercial ties,” she said.

Washington has organized evacuation flights for its citizens in Israel, but has limited capacity in Iran due to the lack of diplomatic relations.

Most US citizens in Iran are dual nationals and hundreds have left since Israel launched its military campaign on June 13, another State Department official said.

Around 200 Americans had voiced an interest in going through Turkmenistan, which shares a 1,148-kilometer (713-mile) border with Iran, although so far only “tens” have proceeded through that route, the official said.

“We’re communicating to all of the US citizens... in Iran looking to go to Turkmenistan that that border is open,” the official said on customary condition of anonymity.

With flights unavailable, the vast majority have gone through Azerbaijan, with some also going through Armenia and Turkiye, the official said.

President Donald Trump, who has prioritized cracking down on immigration, earlier this month banned virtually all Iranian citizens and partially restricted nationals of Turkmenistan from entering the United States.

The visa restrictions continue to apply to Iranian nationals who leave even if they are family members of US citizens, the State Department official said.

Trump on Monday announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran but voiced frustration at implementation.