Djamila Bouhired

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Djamila Bouhired (born 1935) is an Algerian nationalist. Raised in a middle-class family, she went to a French school and joined the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) while a student activist. Later, she worked as a liaison officer and personal assistant of FLN commander Yacef Saadi in Algiers.

In April 1957, she was hurt in a shootout and taken by French troops. She was convicted of terrorism and sentenced to death, but her execution was blocked after a media campaign by her French lawyer, Jacques Vergès. She was released in 1962 and was regarded as a hero in Algeria.

She and Vergès (who eventually got married) worked on Révolution africaine, a French magazine focusing on African nationalist revolutions. Her experience was shown in the film Jamila the Algerian (1958) by Egyptian director Youssef Chahine.

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