Paris attorney did not ask for punishing 'dirty war' book author

The attorney general in Paris on Friday did not ask for any sort of punishment against Habib Sawadeyah, the author of "the dirty war" on the Algerian civil war, who has been sued by the former Algerian defense minister Khaled Nizar for defamation.

In arguments, the representative of the attorney general admitted Sawadeyah's good intention, considering "we are before an intellectual conflict, which is a must for democracy in our society." She stressed "the freedom of expression should be the principle."

Sawadeyah, the former officer in the special forces, accused the Algerian army of committing massacres during the civil war which has been shaking Alegria. Sawadeyah has been sued along with the French 5th channel "La Cinqueme" because of statements he had made in May 2002 against Khaled Nizar.