Algeria's presidency announced on Wednesday that President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has pardoned French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who has been detained for a year.
The 81-year-old author, sentenced to five years in prison in March under anti-terrorism laws for undermining national unity, will be released.
Sansal's arrest followed an interview where he claimed France unjustly transferred Moroccan territory to Algeria during the colonial period from 1830 to 1962.
He suffers from prostate cancer and can now be transferred to Germany for medical treatment.
The pardon responds to a request from German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who appealed on humanitarian grounds citing his longstanding personal relationship with Tebboune.
Algeria had previously rejected French pleas for leniency despite Sansal's age and health condition.
Steinmeier described the potential pardon as an expression of humanitarian sentiment and political foresight, reflecting good relations between the countries.
Tebboune was treated in Germany for Covid-19 in 2020.
International authors including Salman Rushdie, Annie Ernaux, and Wole Soyinka had appealed for Sansal's release.
Sansal, a prize-winning figure in francophone North African literature and vocal critic of Algerian authorities, argued the case against him was senseless, noting the constitution guarantees freedom of expression and conscience.
During a June court session, he questioned if the trial was over literature.
His daughter Sabeha Sansal expressed relief and hopes to see him soon.
The case has strained Algeria-France relations, worsened by France's 2024 recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.
Human rights advocates say Algeria uses anti-terrorism laws to stifle dissent post-2019 Hirak protests.
On Tuesday, poet Mohamed Tadjadit was jailed for five years on charges including condoning terrorism, denounced as baseless by about 20 NGOs including Amnesty International.
French journalist Christophe Gleizes remains imprisoned for glorifying terrorism, with Reporters Without Borders calling for his release ahead of a December appeal.