Kamel Daoud gets five-year Houris term, reports say

An Algerian court sentenced writer Kamel Daoud and his wife in absentia to five years in prison over alleged use of confidential medical information in his novel "Houris", Algerian newspaper El Khabar reported Tuesday.

El Khabar reported that Daoud and Aicha Dahdouh, who are both in France, were sentenced for disclosure of medical secrets and invasion of privacy.

The case stemmed from a complaint by Saada Arbane, an Algerian woman who alleged that the prizewinning novel unlawfully plagiarised facts from her life that she told Dahdouh, who was her psychotherapist.

Daoud has denied that his novel used confidential information based on Arbane's life. Dahdouh has denied wrongdoing, although she confirmed that she had been Arbane's psychotherapist in Algeria.

"Houris", which won France's Prix Goncourt in 2024, tells the story of a woman who loses her voice when an Islamist cuts her throat during Algeria's 1990s war.

Arbane's complaints alleged several similarities between her and the novel's protagonist, including their breathing tube, slashed throats, identical scar and tattoos, and a hair salon they both owned.

In a statement sent to AFP last month, Dahdouh distanced herself from Daoud, saying his voice should not silence hers and adding that she disagreed with him on Algeria, Islam and Palestine.

In an interview with French media outlet Mediapart published Monday, Dahdouh said she and Daoud had begun divorce proceedings.

Daoud was already sentenced in a separate case to three years in prison over "Houris" in April.