Algeria faces calls to drop death penalty plans after wildfires

Algeria residents mourn neighbours lost in wildfire aftermath

Amnesty International has urged Algeria to abandon plans to expand the death penalty and resume executions, following presidential moves to make wildfire arson a capital crime.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the human rights organisation called for an immediate halt to President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s directives. Algeria has not carried out an execution in more than 30 years.

The push to broaden capital punishment sentencing gained momentum following devastating wildfires that killed at least 12 people and injured 54 others last month.

The flames wiped out entire villages across the Kabylie region and other parts of northeastern Algeria, the statement said.

In the aftermath of the fires, Tebboune instructed Justice Minister Lotfi Boudjemaa to amend the law to include arson as well as “child abductors and abusers”.

Anyone sentenced to death could exercise their right to appeal before being executed, Tebboune said.

Amnesty accused Algerian authorities of using the proposed expanded death penalty to target political opposition groups.