Mohamed Hassaïne () (born in

Beni Amrane Beni Amrane is a town and Communes of Algeria, commune in Boumerdès Province, Algeria. According to the 1998 census it has a population of 21,452. Villages The villages of the commune of ''Beni Amrane'' are: History French conquest * Expedi ...

on 5 January 1945, and died in Larbatache on 28 February 1994) was an Algerian journalist.

Early life

Hassaïne was born in 1945 in the village of Azela within the

Thénia District Thénia is a districts of Algeria, district in Boumerdès Province, Boumerdès provinces of Algeria, Province, Algeria. It was named after its capital, Thénia which, under French rule, was called Ménerville. Municipalities The district is furt ...

in the lower Kabylia region of Algeria, east of the Khachna Massif and south-east of the town of

Boumerdès Boumerdès (; ; formerly ''Rocher Noir'') is the capital city of Boumerdès Province, Algeria. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea. It had a population of 15,000 in 1987 and 28,500 in 1998. Boumerdès is a seaside city located in the north o ...

. After primary and intermediate studies in

, Hassaïne continued his secondary education at a high school in

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

, where he obtained the diploma of higher technician in agriculture, and began his professional career by working in the agricultural sub-directorate of Khemis El Khechna under the agricultural directorate of the

Boumerdès Province Boumerdès (, Kabyle language, Kabyle: Tanebḍit n Bumerdas) is a provinces of Algeria, province (''wilaya'') of northern Algeria, located in the Kabylia region, between Algiers and Tizi-Ouzou, with its capital at the coastal city of Boumerdès ...

Socialist Vanguard Party

Hassaïne joined as a militant within the Socialist Vanguard Party (PAGS), and he knew how to translate the main political principles of the Algerian left into simple militant actions centered on taking care of the daily concerns of the humble people of his locality and province in lower Kabylia. Because of his

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

political convictions and his commitment to the working and salaried masses, he had been threatened by the

salafist The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a fundamentalist revival movement within Sunni Islam, originating in the late 19th century and influential in the Islamic world to this day. The name "''Salafiyya''" is a self-designation, claiming a retur ...

s since 1990, but he had not left Algeria to go into exile abroad. He could not be separated from family and friends, as death threats escalated in the last months of his life at the end of 1993, but he chose to stay with his pregnant wife.

Alger Républicain

Hassaïne was one of the journalists for the daily Alger Républicain, along with Mohamed Benchicou, Fodil Mezali and

Saïd Mekbel Said Mekbel (March 25, 1940 at Béjaïa, Bejaia – December 3, 1994 at Algiers) was an Algerian journalist and satirist. Personal Born on March 25, 1940, at Béjaïa, Bejaia in a modest family. His father was a seaman. He was the eldest of ...

, when this press title, founded in 1938, reappeared as a news daily following the events of

1988 October riots The 1988 October Riots were a series of street-level disturbances and riotous demonstrations by Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to ...

. Thus, for several years, Hassaïne was the correspondent of the militant newspaper Alger Républicain, and his articles were mainly devoted to the problems of the peasantry and the workers' struggles of workers and trade unionists. He was also responsible for preparing reports to follow in particular union activities at the level of the industrial zone of Rouiba-

Reghaïa Reghaïa is a municipality in Algiers Province, Algeria. It is located in Rouïba District, Rouïba districts of Algeria, district and is the most populated municipality of the district. Geography It is located in the northern part of the plain ...

, one of the largest working-class zones in Algeria, and he also provided coverage of the football matches of several local teams in his province, while covering news items.

Kidnapping and death

Hassaïne was kidnapped during the month of

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

on 28 February 1994 around 7:30 am, while leaving his house in Larbatache to go to work, a group of armed terrorists affiliated with Islamist terrorism in Algeria approached him. Subsequently, they forced him to follow them to an unknown place. He was taken to an area bordering his place of residence where he was assassinated by beheading. The remains of his body were found several days after his disappearance.

Family

Mohamed Hassaïne had a wife and three children.

Aftermath

Repentant terrorists who benefited from the 2005 Algerian national reconciliation then claimed that Hassaïne was assassinated on the very day of his kidnapping. Indeed, his entire body was never found when he was 49. No burial was ever dedicated to him. The witnesses who had witnessed the kidnapping were terrorized and could not denounce his executioners, but a few years later, testimonies from neighbors but also from repentants reported that Hassaïne was kidnapped by four men from the

Armed Islamic Group of Algeria The Armed Islamic Group (GIA, from ; ) was one of the two main Islamist insurgent groups that fought the Algerian government and army in the Algerian Civil War. It was created from smaller armed groups following the 1992 military coup and arr ...

(GIA) who were waiting for him in a vehicle around the corner.

Commemoration

The journalists of the press of the Boumerdès Province organized on 2 May 2009, a tournament in the commune of

Boudouaou Boudouaou, during French colonialism known as L'Alma (or Alma) is a town in the western part of Boumerdès, Algeria. It is a coastal town on the Mediterranean Sea. Its population in 2008 was 56,398. It is located 18 miles east of the capital Alg ...

dedicated to the memory of the journalist Hassaïne, and to commemorate the

World Press Freedom Day The United Nations General Assembly declared May 3 to be World Press Freedom Day or just World Press Day, observed to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the righ ...

. The Boumerdès Province officially honored in October 2013 the memory of Hassaïne as well as four of his colleagues, like

Othmane Senadjki Othmane Senadjki (; 23 May 1959 in Khemis El Khechna – 29 December 2010 in Béni Messous) was an Algerian journalist and editor-in-chief of El Khabar newspaper. Early life Senadjki was born in 1959 in the town of Khemis El Khechna in the ...

, Rabah Hammouche, Mohamed Brara and Lamia Guettaf. A ceremony of meditation in memory of Hassaïne was organized on Friday 28 February 2014, at 9:00 am in downtown Larbatache in the presence of his wife, children, friends and colleagues, as well as the Manansaouche collective which was associated with this ceremony where a minute of silence was observed in memory of the deceased. A vibrant tribute was paid on 28 February 2015, to journalist Hassaïne in a ceremony of meditation in his memory in the town of Larbatache where a wreath of flowers was laid at the place of the kidnapping. After the minute of silence in his memory and to all the victims of the terrorist hordes, the speakers retraced his fight for democracy and social justice through his pen and his union and militant actions for the benefit of the working masses.

Bibliography

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References

External links

Algerian journalists and media workers murdered or missing
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hassaïne, Mohamed 1945 births 1994 deaths 20th-century Algerian writers 20th-century Algerian journalists Assassinated Algerian journalists Kidnapped Algerian people Assassinated Algerian people Assassinated Algerian politicians People murdered in Algeria Algerian murder victims Assassinated activists People killed by Islamic terrorism People from Beni Amrane Kabyle people Algerian male writers Algerian writers in French Algerian columnists 20th-century Algerian politicians Algerian Communist Party politicians Algerian Berber politicians Berber politicians Algerian communists Trade unionists Algerian activists African politicians assassinated in the 1990s Assassinated trade unionists Politicians assassinated in 1994