Skip navigation
London Review of Books

Electric Koran subscriber-only content

Richard Vinen

  • Services Spéciaux Algérie 1955-57: Mon témoignage sur la torture by Paul Aussaresses
  • Appelés en Algérie: La Parole confisquée by Claire Mauss-Copeaux

In 1957, Louisette Ighilahriz, a member of the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) in Algeria, was captured by French paratroopers. She was tortured and repeatedly raped. Until a French Army doctor arranged for her to be transferred to hospital and then to prison, her only hope was that her guards might be careless enough to leave her with the means of killing herself.

subscriber-only content Subscribers to the print edition can log in to view the entire article. For information about subscribing to the London Review of Books click here. This article is available for purchase online. Buy this article.

Richard Vinen teaches at King’s College London. A History in Fragments: Europe in the 20th Century is published by Little, Brown.