Algeria is moving to introduce the death penalty for people convicted of deliberately starting forest fires after a recent wave of blazes killed at least 12 people in the country’s east. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune ordered the justice minister to prepare an amendment to the penal code by September 15, state television reported. Any death sentence would only be carried out after all legal appeals had been exhausted.
The order follows fires that swept through several eastern provinces, destroying homes and forcing residents to flee. Authorities are investigating whether some of the fires were deliberately started after reports of multiple blazes breaking out at about the same time. Under Algeria’s current law, deliberately causing forest fires can carry a prison sentence of up to 30 years, or life imprisonment in serious cases. Although the death penalty remains legal for several offences in Algeria, the country has not carried out an execution since 1993.
Tebboune has also ordered compensation for families whose homes and property were damaged or destroyed. Government committees will assess losses and determine payments. Authorities have been instructed to restore electricity, gas, water and telecommunications services in affected areas and repair damaged homes as quickly as possible. The president called for normal life to resume within a week, while security authorities continue investigating the cause of the fires.
