Algeria prevents Sheikh Abbas Madani meeting Salvation Front leaders

The Algerian government has prevented Sheikh Abbas Madani, the leader of the Islamic Salvation Front, from receiving leaders of the outlawed front.

An Algerian source told ArabicNews.com a delegation tried to visit Madani in his house, but security forces prevented them from getting Madani's home into or even speaking with the leader in front of his guards.

The source did not announce the reasons for preventing Madani from meeting the delegation.

Madani has been under house arrest since last September, after addressing a message to the secretary-general of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, in which he suggested a UN call for stopping the violence in Algeria.

The Algerian authorities considered his message a call for external interference in the country's internal affairs and had placed him under house arrest. Madani's phone was cut and he was only allowed to meet with approved persons.