Early life Mehenni was born on March 5, 1951, in
Illoula Oumalou,
Tizi Ouzou Province,
Algeria. He graduated from the
University of Algiers with a degree in
political science. Soon after, he began his career as a
protest singer and political activist.
Activism Due to his struggle for human right, and his fight for the
Amazigh and indigenous cultural right, Mehenni was arrested 13 times, imprisoned for 3 years, and tortured repeatedly by Algerian military regime. In response to the
Black Spring massacre in Kabylia, Mehenni established the Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylia. The MAK was later reformed into the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylia. Mehenni's eldest son, Améziane Mehenni, was assassinated in 2004. He made a visit to Israel in 2012, meeting
Likud hardliners such as
Danny Danon, and took part in a pro-Israel demonstration in Paris in October 2023 amid the
Gaza war. The relation has been described as consistent with Israel's
periphery doctrine. ==Discography==