President Emmanuel Macron admitted that French soldiers killed the famous fighter for Algerian independence, Ali Boumendjel, AP reported.

Macron met with Ali Boumendjel's four grandchildren and admitted that the lawyer was detained, tortured, and killed in Algeria on March 23, 1957, the Elysee Palace reports.

French authorities have earlier said that he committed suicide while in custody, a lie his widow and other family members have fought for years to refute.

“No crime, no atrocity committed by anyone during the War of Algeria can be excused or left hidden,” the Elysee statement said. “They must be faced with courage and lucidity, with absolute respect for those whose lives were torn apart by them and whose destinies were broken.”

Boumendjel was a French-speaking nationalist lawyer and intellectual.