Algerian Author Faces Lawsuit Over Allegations of Using Patient’s Story in Award-Winning Novel

This year’s recipient of France’s most significant literary award is being sued in Algeria, facing accusations that he appropriated the narrative of a patient of his psychiatrist wife for his novel. Kamel Daoud was honored with the Goncourt prize earlier this month for his book *Houris*, a powerful depiction of Algeria’s civil war in the 1990s, which claimed the lives of up to 200,000 people. However, a woman who survived one of the massacres has appeared on Algerian television, claiming that the novel’s protagonist, named Fajr, is based on her personal experiences. As a young girl, Saada Arbane had her throat cut during an Islamist militant attack that annihilated most of her family; she now communicates using a speaking tube. The character Fajr in the book is portrayed as having endured the same trauma. Ms. Arbane stated that beginning in 2015, she attended several psychiatric sessions with Aicha Dahdouh, who subsequently became Daoud’s wife. Ms. Arbane has accused the couple of exploiting her story without her consent. She claimed that numerous specific details of the heroine’s life – “her speaking tube, her scars, her tattoos, her hairdresser” – were directly sourced from information she provided to Ms. Dahdouh. Similarly, she noted, Fajr’s relationship with her mother and her desire for an abortion also mirrored her own. Ms. Arbane further alleged that she accepted an invitation to meet Daoud three years ago but declined his request to use her story as the foundation for his book. “It’s my life. It’s my past. He had no right to chuck me out like that,“ she told Algeria One TV. Two legal actions have been initiated in Algeria against Daoud and his wife. One lawsuit cites regulations concerning medical confidentiality. The second references a law enacted after the conclusion of the civil war, which criminalizes the act of “instrumentalise the wounds of the national tragedy”. This “reconciliation” law significantly restricts the freedom to publish or speak publicly about the civil war. It is cited as the reason why Daoud’s book has been prohibited in his home country and why his French publisher, Gallimard, was barred from the recent Algiers book fair. Daoud, who relocated to Paris in 2020 and acquired French nationality, is a contentious figure in Algeria, where some accuse him of aligning with the former colonial power. He is the first Algerian to win the main Goncourt prize. His earlier work, *The Meursault Investigation*, received the best first novel award in 2015. Daoud has not yet issued a response to the lawsuit, although the BBC has sought comment from the author. Antoine Gallimard, representing the publishing firm, stated that the writer is being made “the target of a campaign of violent defamation orchestrated by certain media close to the Algerian government.“ He added that “Houris was certainly inspired by the tragic events which happened in Algeria … but its plot, its characters and its heroine are purely fictional.” The lawsuits against Daoud and his wife were publicly announced in Algeria on Wednesday by lawyer Fatima Benbraham, a woman described by *Le Monde* newspaper as a “fervent supporter of the regime”. She indicated that the lawsuits were filed in August, shortly after the book’s publication, but were only disclosed now “because the plaintiffs did not want it to be said that they were trying to upset the [book’s] nomination for the Goncourt.” This controversy arises amidst worsening tensions between Algeria and France, triggered by President Emmanuel Macron’s recent recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara. Algeria is the historical supporter of the Polisario independence movement. Macron’s decision angered many Algerians, who view the award to Daoud as a political rather than a literary gesture. Separately, Boualem Sansal, another acclaimed French-based Algerian writer, was reported missing in Algeria on Thursday, amid concerns of a potential arrest. Sansal, 75, obtained French nationality earlier this year but regularly returned to Algeria. He is known for his criticism of both the Algerian regime and Islamism. He flew to Algiers from Paris on Saturday. His editor, Jean-François Colosimo, stated that he has not been heard from since then, expressing, “I am more than worried.”