Tahar Djaout

Who was Tahar Djaout?

Tahar Djaout was an Algerian journalist, poet, and fiction writer. He was assassinated by the Armed Islamic Group because of his support of secularism and opposition to what he considered fanaticism. He was attacked on May 26, 1993, as he was leaving his home in Bainem, Algeria. He died on June 2, after lying in a coma for a week. One of his attackers professed that he was murdered because he "wielded a fearsome pen that could have an effect on Islamic sectors." He was born in Oulkhou, in the relatively secular Kabylie region. After his death the BBC made a documentary about him entitled 'Shooting the Writer', introduced by Salman Rushdie.