Algerian leader goes on trial

Islamist leader Abdelkader Hachani went on trial in Algeria on July 7 on charges of trying to undermine state security, after more than five odd years detention without trial, an Algerian newspaper said.

After Hachani led the Islamic salvation front (FIS) to a landslide first-round victory in a general election in 1991, the authorities canceled the ballot in January 1992, sparking violence in which about 60,000 people have died.

The former oil engineer took over the FIS leadership temporarily after party president Abasi Madani and his deputy Ali Belhadj were arrested six months before the election.

They were tried on charges of subversion and each sentenced in July 1992 to 12 years of imprisonment.

Algerian newspapers said Hachani would be tried in Algiers criminal court along with three journalists from Al Khabar newspaper, which published a statement from Hachani calling on members of the military to disobey orders from officers to act against "Islamist" militants.

Hachani was arrested in January 1992 after the publication and was taken to Sirkadji high security prison near the Casabah, the ancient heart of old Algiers. Shortly afterwards, the FIS was outlawed.