Messali Hadj
At about age 22, he was drawn to the movement for Algerian self-rule and independence, joining the Parti du peuple algérien (PPA) headed by Messali Hadj. Following the Sétif massacre, he was among those who pushed for the formation of an armed clandestine network, the "Organisation spéciale" (OS). The OS was soon crushed by France, and in 1948 he was arrested by France and imprisoned in Blida military prison, where he was tortured. After being freed in 1951, he left to live in France, where he was active in the Algerian labor movement.