Ali Boumendjel (May 24, 1919 – March 23, 1957) was an Algerian revolutionary and lawyer.

Biography

Born in

Relizane Relizane or Ghilizan (Arabic language, Arabic: غلیزان; Berber language, Berber: Ɣilizan) is a city in Algeria. It is the capital city of Relizane Province. Toponymy The name of Relizane comes from the Berber ⵉⵖⵉⵍ ⵉⵣⵣⴰⵏ ...

to an educated family from Beni Yeni region, Boumendjel was educated at the Duveyrier college in

Blida Blida ( ar, البليدة; Berber languages, Tamazight: Leblida) is a city in Algeria. It is the capital of Blida Province, and it is located about 45 km south-west of Algiers, the national capital. The name ''Blida'', i.e. ''bulaydah'' ...

, where he met with other future figures of the

Algerian revolution The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

, such as

Abane Ramdane Abane Ramdane (June 10, 1920 – December 26, 1957) was an Algerian political activist and revolutionary. He played a key role in the organization of the independence struggle during the Algerian war. His influence was so great that he was known ...

Benyoucef Benkhedda Benyoucef Benkhedda ( ar, بن يوسف بن خدة; February 23, 1920 – February 4, 2003) was an Algerian politician. He headed the third GPRA exile government of the National Liberation Front (FLN), acting as a leader during the Algerian Wa ...

and

Saad Dahlab Saad Dahlab (b. in Ksar Chellala, April 18, 1918 - d. December 16, 2000 in Algiers) was an Algerian nationalist and politician. A long-time national activist, he played a part in virtually all the early Algerian nationalist movements: L'Étoile ...

. He then oriented his career toward law, and became a journalist for the ''Egalité'' journal, controlled by the integrationists of

Ferhat Abbas Ferhat is a Turkish given name and the Turkish spelling of the Persian name Ferhad ( fa, فرهاد, ''farhād''). It may refer to: Given name Ferhad * Ferhad Ayaz (born 1994), Turkish-Swedish footballer * Ferhad Pasha Sokolović 16th-century Ott ...

. During the revolution he became, with Jacques Verges, one of many lawyers working for the Algerian nationalists. In 1955, he joined the National Liberation Front (FLN) with his old friend Abane Ramdane, after Ramdane was released from prison. Ramdane advised Boumendjel to change his professional orientation, so he joined the litigation department of

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard ou ...

corporation, while still continuing his militantism in the FLN. Ali studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

and became a lawyer. His political awakening took place during the days of the

Popular Front A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault". More generally, it is "a coalition ...

. It was marked by the call for the emancipation of the Algerian

Nation A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by those ...

launched by

Messali Hadj Ahmed Ben Messali Hadj (May 16, 1898 - June 3, 1974), commonly known as Messali Hadj, ar, مصالي الحاج, was an Algerian nationalist politician dedicated to the independence of his homeland from French colonial rule. He is often called ...

and sensitive to the commitment and communist mobilization in the Muslim

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

. He refused military service in the French Army, which earned him a list of anti-French activities and to be considered a dangerous

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

. Boumendjel was arrested on February 9, 1957, and underwent over a month of torture at the hands of commandant

Paul Aussaresses Paul Aussaresses (; 7 November 1918 – 3 December 2013) was a French Army general, who fought during World War II, the First Indochina War and Algerian War. His actions during the Algerian War—and later defense of those actions—caused consid ...

and his men. On March 23, in El Biar, outside Algiers, he was thrown from the sixth floor of a building; his death was passed off as a suicide. Forty-three years later, in 2000, Aussaresses admitted that Boumendjel had been murdered. Photo metro alger ali boumendjel 17122018

Photo metro alger ali boumendjel 17122018

Following the recommendations of the report by historian

Benjamin Stora Benjamin Stora (born 2 December 1950) is a French historian, expert on North Africa, who is widely considered one of the world's leading authorities on Algerian history. He was born in a Jewish family that left the country following its War of ...

on remembrance of

French Algeria French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...

, on March 2, 2021, French President

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...

recognized that Ali Boumendjel was "tortured and murdered" by the

French army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

. The president received four of Ali Boumendjel's grandchildren to announce to them the recognition, on behalf of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, of his assassination. The press release evokes the confession of

to have ordered one of his subordinates to disguise the murder as suicide. Reconnaissance par la France de l’assassinat d’Ali Boumendjel.
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Tributes

A street and a metro station bear his name in Algiers as well as a city in Relizane, his birthplace.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boumendjel, Ali 1919 births 1957 deaths Members of the National Liberation Front (Algeria) Assassinated Algerian politicians 20th-century Algerian lawyers People of the Algerian War 20th-century Algerian politicians