ALGIERS — Algeria’s National Assembly on Thursday voted through a bill imposing the death penalty for deliberate arson of forests, woods or fields after deadly wildfires in the country’s northeast, the BBC and Al Jazeera reported.
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune ordered the justice ministry to toughen the criminal code after more than 100 fires during an intense northern African heatwave. Officials put the death toll at 12; independent journalist Nozha Khelalef’s tally on the Twala site, drawn from family notices and local authorities, reached about 200. Justice Minister Lotfi Boudjemaa told parliament the measure was needed because arson had reached “the level of organised crime,” with investigations suggesting links to “foreign parties,” AFP reported. The bill also expands capital punishment to child abductions involving torture, sexual assault or mutilation.
Capital punishment remains in Algeria’s penal code, but no execution has been carried out since 1993. The Council of the Nation (upper house) must still review the law before presidential ratification. Amnesty International urged the upper house to reject the expansion.
Sources: BBC News, Al Jazeera
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