Kamel Daoud Sentenced to Five Years in Algerian Prison Over 'Houris' Controversy

Franco-Algerian writer Kamel Daoud has been sentenced in absentia to five years in prison by an Algerian court following a lawsuit alleging that he used elements of an Algerian woman's life story in his novel "Houris." The Oran court also sentenced Daoud's wife, psychiatrist Aïcha Dahdouh, to five years imprisonment and fined both defendants 300,000 dinars (approximately 2,000 euros).

The case revolves around Saâda Arbane, a former patient of Dahdouh, who claimed her personal story was appropriated by Daoud in his 2024 Goncourt Prize-winning novel "Houris." The book explores Algeria's "decennie noire," the brutal civil war from 1992 to 2002 that led to about 200,000 deaths. Arbane accuses Daoud of theft of her tragic narrative from the psychiatric setting.

Daoud and Dahdouh have denied these allegations, with Dahdouh explicitly rejecting claims that she breached medical confidentiality or shared Arbane's medical file with her husband. The couple is currently undergoing divorce proceedings amid this legal turmoil.

In parallel proceedings in France, on September 8, 2026, a Paris court acquitted Daoud of defamation charges brought by Arbane after he suggested her lawsuit was politically motivated. However, this ruling did not address the core accusation of story appropriation tied to "Houris." Additional French legal procedures concerning privacy violations are ongoing.

This complex legal saga highlights tensions between artistic expression and personal privacy amid Algeria's turbulent modern history and the international literary acclaim of Daoud's work. Both in Algeria and France, the case remains active with significant legal and cultural implications.