Algeria moves to restore death penalty for arson: What to know

To deter crimes like the devastating arson behind its seasonal wildfires, Algeria moved this week to reinstate the death penalty despite pushback from rights organizations, effectively ending a 30-year freeze on executions.

What happened: The People’s National Assembly passed an amendment to the Algerian penal code on Thursday approving the death penalty for those who purposefully set fires as well as kidnappers of children. Justice Minister Lotfi Boudjemaa called executions “the appropriate legal response to this type of criminal act,” referring to both types of offenses, the official Algeria Press Service reported. 

The parliament’s upper chamber, the Council of the Nation, must pass the amendment before it can be ratified. It is expected to be reviewed by the chamber, but state media outlets did not report a date. 

The amendment received support from the National Liberation Front, which has dominated Algeria since independence from France in 1962 and is the largest party in parliament, as well as Islamists in the body, according to local and Arabic media reports.

Why it matters: Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune called in September for the death penalty in arson cases following the country’s latest wave of deadly fires.

Wildfires swept across Algeria in late August and early September, killing an official total of 12 people. French newspaper Le Monde, however, reported that more than 200 people had died, noting that authorities had not updated the initial toll. The worst-hit areas were Jijel and Bejaia on the Mediterranean coast.

Algeria has suffered major wildfires in recent years, including in 2021, 2022 and 2023. In 2021, authorities arrested 22 people and blamed the Rashad movement and the separatist MAK for starting fires, though the causes of other blazes remain unclear.

Know more: Rights groups have criticized the move to reinstate the death penalty. London-based Amnesty International said on Thursday that the amendment was “rushed” through parliament without input from lawyers and rights organizations and that its language is too broad. 

Freedom House characterizes Algeria as “not free.” The watchdog noted that the FLN dominates the country, adding that elections are marred by fraud and that protests and the media are regularly suppressed, among other issues.

The North African country has not carried out an execution since 1993. The Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights said last month that the Algerian criminal code already allows for the death penalty in cases where arson results in death, and noted that death sentences have been issued but not carried out since 1993. 

“Reintroducing executions in Algeria would represent a step backward,” the federation said in a statement.