Abassi Madani

Abbassi Madani (; 28 February 1931 – 24 April 2019) was an Algerian politician who was the President of the Islamic Salvation Front. As its leader, he became the voice of a large part of the dispossessed Algerian youth.

Career

Madani was born in Diyar Ben Aissa, Sidi Okba, now in Biskra Province. In his youth he joined the National Liberation Front (FLN) and participated in the first day of the Algerian War of Independence, 1 November 1954, by planting a bomb at an Algiers radio facility, but was arrested by the French on 17 November 1954, and remained in jail until independence in 1962. After studying for a doctorate in educational psychology in London from 1975 to 1978, he became a professor of educational sciences at the University of Algiers. Madani contended that the Islamic essence of November 1954 was betrayed by the Charters of Tripoli and Algeria, along with other charters upheld by Houari Boumediene and Chadli Bendjedid. An attack by armed forces ended the protest. After the strike, Madani was arrested and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment following charges of threatening state security. The UN Human Rights Committee investigated the arrest made by the military court of Blida, during its 89th session in New York in 2007. The committee concluded that the trial and sentencing of Madani by the military court constituted a violation of article 14 of the Covenant.

Retirement Politically, he was widely considered to represent the moderate wing of FIS, contrasted with Ali Belhadj's more hardline views. His positions included free markets, early Islamic education, Arabization of education and government, segregation of the sexes, and sharia-based law. He expressed support for democracy, but with the reservation that it could not override Sharia law.

In January 2011, Agence France-Presse announced, in connection with ongoing demonstrations in Algeria, that Madani had fled to Qatar. Madani died on 24 April 2019.