Algeria’s National People’s Assembly has passed legislation establishing the death penalty for individuals convicted of intentionally setting fire to forests, woods, or agricultural fields following a series of devastating wildfires across the country.
Reporter Innocent Semosa confirms that the legislative amendments, ordered by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, come after more than 100 wildfires swept through northeastern Algeria during an extreme regional heatwave, leaving an official death toll of 12 people.
In addition to agricultural arson, the amended penal code expands capital punishment to cover child abduction cases involving torture, sexual assault, or mutilation. While capital punishment remains part of Algeria’s legal system, the country has maintained a de facto moratorium on executions, with no judicial executions carried out since 1993.
–ChannelAfrica–
