<\/p>\n
Algeria\u2019s authorities\u00a0must immediately abandon any plans to\u00a0expand the scope of the\u202fdeath penalty\u00a0or resume executions after more than three decades without carrying one out, said Amnesty International\u00a0as the government examines amendments to the penal code that would broaden the use of the death penalty. The organization\u00a0calls on Algeria\u2019s authorities to\u00a0immediately\u00a0establish\u00a0an official moratorium as a first step towards fully abolishing the\u00a0death penalty. It\u00a0also urges the authorities to adopt a human-rights\u00a0centred\u00a0response to\u00a0the recent\u00a0devastating wildfires, including by ensuring effective investigations into all factors that led to the tragic loss of life and accountability without resort to the death penalty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On 30 August,\u00a0Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune instructed<\/u><\/a>\u00a0the Minister of Justice to amend the Penal Code by 15 September to\u00a0\u201creintroduce\u201d\u00a0the death penalty\u00a0for\u00a0intentionally\u00a0starting\u00a0or\u00a0instigating\u00a0fires. \u00a0He\u00a0stressed\u00a0that anyone\u00a0sentenced to death\u00a0would face execution\u00a0as soon as they have exhausted their right of appeal.\u00a0The\u00a0directive came\u00a0in the wake of\u00a0deadly\u00a0wildfires\u00a0that erupted\u00a0between 26 and 30 August,\u00a0wiping\u00a0out entire villages\u00a0across\u00a0the\u00a0Kabylie\u00a0region\u00a0and other\u00a0parts of\u00a0northeastern\u00a0Algeria.\u00a0On 6 September,\u00a0the government started examining<\/u><\/a>\u00a0the proposed\u00a0draft\u00a0amendments to the Penal Code\u00a0and\u00a0the\u00a0president indicated<\/u><\/a>\u00a0that\u00a0they\u00a0would\u00a0further\u00a0introduce the death penalty\u00a0for\u00a0\u201cchild abductors\u00a0and\u00a0abusers\u201d. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe devastation and loss of life caused by these fires is a profound tragedy\u00a0and\u00a0should spur the\u00a0Algerian authorities\u00a0into taking immediate steps focusing\u00a0both\u00a0on\u00a0prevention\u00a0and accountability.\u00a0But walking back from\u00a0over\u00a030\u00a0years\u00a0without\u00a0executions is\u00a0a deeply retrograde\u00a0response\u00a0that\u00a0runs counter to respect\u00a0for\u00a0the right to life,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Nadege Lahmar, Algeria Researcher. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u00a0is\u00a0also\u00a0at odd with\u00a0Algeria\u2019s\u00a0international\u00a0human rights\u00a0obligations,\u00a0in addition to\u00a0its consistent support to\u00a0UN\u00a0General Assembly resolutions<\/u><\/a>\u00a0calling for a moratorium\u00a0on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n Amnesty International considers the death penalty to be\u00a0a\u00a0violation of the right to life and\u00a0the ultimate cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment;\u00a0which\u00a0does not\u00a0have a unique deterrent effect on\u00a0crime\u00a0and perpetuates a cycle of\u00a0violence.\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition to\u00a0drawing from\u00a0previous\u00a0research into politically motivated trials in Algeria,\u00a0Amnesty International reviewed\u00a0public\u00a0statements from the Algerian government\u00a0as well as\u00a0media reports since the\u00a0eruption of the fires\u00a0and\u00a0analyzed\u00a0relevant\u00a0legal provisions\u00a0relating to arson.\u00a0On\u00a07 September\u00a0Amnesty International shared its\u00a0concerns\u00a0and recommendations with the Algerian\u00a0authorities. No response has\u00a0been received\u00a0at the time of writing. \u00a0<\/p>\n The Algerian government has not shared\u00a0comprehensive\u00a0figures of\u00a0deaths and injuries\u00a0from the fires.\u00a0Official\u00a0government\u00a0figures\u00a0on 26 August\u00a0recorded 12 deaths and 54 hospitalizations<\/u><\/a>,\u00a0but\u00a0credible sources<\/u><\/a>\u00a0have since reported<\/u><\/a>\u00a0significantly higher casualties<\/u><\/a>,\u00a0including\u00a0over\u00a070\u00a0deaths\u00a0in\u00a0a single municipality<\/u><\/a>. In July, separate wildfires killed six people<\/u><\/a>\u00a0also\u00a0in the northeast.\u00a0While authorities linked the\u00a0July\u00a0fires to a severe<\/u><\/a>\u00a0heatwave<\/u><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0previously\u00a0described\u00a0wildfires as\u00a0a major risk<\/u><\/a>\u00a0and structural challenge<\/u><\/a>\u00a0exacerbated\u00a0by\u00a0climate change,\u00a0in August,\u00a0the Algerian president pointed<\/u><\/a>\u00a0to the responsibility of criminal elements<\/u><\/a>\u00a0\u201cattempting to weaken Algeria and undermine its unity\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Between 26 July<\/u><\/a>\u00a0and<\/u><\/a>\u00a010\u00a0September<\/u><\/a>, the authorities\u00a0announced\u00a0the detentions of\u00a020\u00a0people\u00a0pending investigations\u00a0for arson\u00a0and \u201csubversion\u201d\u00a0\u2013 a\u00a0terrorism-related charge\u00a0punished\u00a0by\u00a0a mandatory\u00a0death\u00a0penalty.\u00a0They claimed\u00a0a supporter of\u00a0the Movement for the Self-determination of\u00a0Kabylie\u00a0(MAK), a political opposition group\u00a0which the Algerian authorities\u00a0designated\u00a0as \u201cterrorist\u201d,\u00a0was among those detained. \u00a0<\/p>\n Algerian authorities have\u00a0previously\u00a0used wildfires to justify repression and resort to the death penalty.\u00a0Following the August 2021 wildfires in northeastern Algeria, which killed at least 90 people, the authorities blamed<\/u><\/a>\u00a0political opposition groups,\u00a0primarily\u00a0the\u00a0MAK,\u00a0and prosecuted scores of people on terrorism-related and other serious charges.\u00a0In November 2022,\u00a0a\u00a0court\u00a0convicted and sentenced<\/u><\/a>\u00a056\u00a0people to death in\u00a0a\u00a0mass trial\u00a0marred\u00a0by\u00a0gross fair trial violations and\u00a0torture\u00a0allegations\u00a0that were not investigated; at\u00a0least 10\u00a0among them were\u00a0sentenced to death based on their political affiliations.\u00a0The Supreme Court\u00a0subsequently\u00a0ordered a retrial,\u00a0which\u00a0commenced\u00a0on 1 March 2026. \u00a0<\/p>\n Courts have also resorted to politically motivated terrorism-related charges\u00a0sanctioned by death\u00a0to prosecute peaceful activists in at least two<\/u><\/a>\u00a0other<\/u><\/a>\u00a0cases\u00a0unrelated to wildfires\u00a0since 2021.\u00a0This record makes the proposed expansion of the death penalty\u00a0all the more\u00a0alarming. \u00a0<\/p>\n As Algeria faces increasingly frequent and severe wildfires\u00a0in the context of worsening global heating due to\u00a0climate change,\u00a0the authorities should focus on protecting lives, strengthening prevention and emergency response\u00a0\u2013 including by addressing the root causes of climate exacerbated disasters,\u00a0and ensuring credible investigations and accountability.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAccountability for the devastating loss of life caused by wildfires cannot be reduced to pursuing alleged perpetrators of arson.\u00a0Authorities must conduct thorough, independent, impartial, and transparent investigations\u00a0into all factors that caused or contributed to the\u00a0fires and loss of life,\u00a0including any failures by public\u00a0officials\u00a0and\u00a0shortcomings in prevention,\u00a0preparedness\u00a0and emergency response,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Nadege Lahmar.<\/p>\n \u201cThe findings\u00a0must\u00a0be\u00a0made\u00a0public\u00a0and\u00a0where there is sufficient evidence of criminal responsibility, those responsible\u00a0must be prosecuted in fair proceedings that exclude\u00a0resort\u00a0to the death penalty.\u00a0Survivors and families\u00a0also\u00a0have\u00a0a right to\u00a0timely,\u00a0accessible\u00a0and\u00a0accurate\u00a0information\u00a0regarding\u00a0those missing or deceased.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Under\u00a0current Algerian law, arson carries penalties ranging from three years to life imprisonment\u00a0and\u00a0the death penalty if\u00a0it\u00a0causes death. Although Algeria has\u00a0not\u00a0carried out\u00a0executions since 1993, courts continue to\u00a0impose\u00a0death sentences\u00a0most\u00a0commonly\u00a0for murder<\/u><\/a>.\u00a0In\u00a0July 2025,\u00a0authorities already broadened the scope of the death penalty to include\u00a0several drug-related offences<\/u><\/a>.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n Algeria\u00a0is\u00a0party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights\u00a0(ICCPR)\u00a0which\u00a0restricts\u00a0the\u00a0use\u00a0of the death penalty\u00a0to\u00a0the \u201cmost serious crimes\u201d,\u00a0interpreted as offences involving\u00a0intentional killing;\u00a0and\u00a0sets\u00a0its\u00a0abolition as a goal\u00a0in countries that still retain this cruel punishment.\u00a0In line with\u00a0Article 6\u00a0of\u00a0the ICCPR,\u00a0the UN Human Rights Committee stated<\/u><\/a>\u00a0that\u00a0\u201cstate parties\u00a0may not transform into a capital offence any offence that, upon ratification of the\u00a0[ICCPR]\u00a0or\u00a0at any\u00a0time\u00a0thereafter, did not entail the death penalty\u201d\u00a0nor should they\u00a0increase its application.\u00a0Amnesty International opposes the death penalty unconditionally, in all cases and under any circumstances.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n kabarsula SLOT <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Algeria\u2019s authorities\u00a0must immediately abandon any plans to\u00a0expand the scope of the\u202fdeath penalty\u00a0or resume executions after…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1375,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kabarsula"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Wildfires\u00a0should not be\u00a0used to justify repression<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Need for\u00a0a\u00a0human rights-centred\u00a0response<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Background<\/strong><\/h4>\n