In 1991 , soon after FIS had finished a General strike and massive peaceful demonstrations in Algiers that was disrupted by a sudden attack by snipers and armed forces that ended with the death of over 1000 civilians in one day and 1000 's injured , he , along with FIS president Abassi Madani , was arrested and jailed on charges of threatening state security . In late 1991 , FIS won the first round of parliamentary elections , which were then called off by the military , who banned FIS ; Belhadj remained in jail before and throughout all of the Algerian Civil War that followed . In December 1994 , the hijackers of Air France Flight 8969 demanded Ali Benhadj 's release along with Abbassi Madani . The hijackers later dropped those demands in exchange for fuel to fly to France from Algeria . He was released only after serving a 12-year sentence in 2003 under the condition of abstaining from all political activity . Belhadj has been called a charismatic preacher
Air France Flight 8969
Air France Flight 8969
Ali Benhadj