Algeria's Lower House Backs Death Penalty for Forest Arson
Algeria's National Assembly has approved a bill that would allow execution for people convicted of deliberately setting fire to forests or fields. BBC
The vote is not the final step. The text must now go to the upper house, the Council of the Nation, for review before the president signs it into law, a step called ratification. BBC
What the bill would change
Under the text, anyone found guilty of intentionally burning forests, woods or fields could face the death penalty. The same bill would also make some child abductions capital offences, specifically kidnappings that involve torture, sexual assault or mutilation. BBC
The proposal came from the presidency. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune ordered the justice ministry to draft the changes after fires in the north-east. Justice Minister Lotfi Boudjemaa told parliament "adoption of the death penalty is the appropriate legal response to curb these crimes." He said arson had reached the level of organised crime, with investigations pointing to links to foreign parties. BBC
Why the government acted now
The bill follows more than 100 fires in north-east Algeria during an intense heatwave across northern Africa. The official death toll is 12. Investigative journalist Nozha Khelalef reports 200 deaths. Officials have not explained the difference. BBC
Algeria still keeps capital punishment in its penal code, but it has not carried out an execution since 1993. Courts can still hand down death sentences, while the state has kept an unofficial pause for more than 30 years. Lawyers call this a de facto moratorium. This bill would widen the list of crimes that carry the death penalty rather than create a new type of punishment. BBC
Tebboune first raised the idea weeks earlier, saying in early September that he wanted to bring back the death penalty for arsonists after the deadly forest fires. AP Amnesty International later asked Algeria to drop plans to expand the death penalty and restart executions. Al Jazeera
There is an earlier court case tied to wildfires. In November 2022, an Algerian court sentenced 48 people to death for killing a man they accused of starting deadly wildfires. Reuters Separately, Tebboune ordered officials to finish paying compensation to wildfire victims and praised fast payments, according to presidency statements issued in March. A wildfire was also reported in the Bordj Okhriss area of Bouira province in northern Algeria. Reuters
What happens next
The broader context here is procedural and practical. Council of the Nation review and presidential approval will decide the final wording and when it takes effect. If the expanded law stands alongside the long pause on executions, courts could issue death sentences that the executive does not carry out, like a sentence on paper that is not enforced.
In my view, three legal questions deserve attention. First, proof of intent. Prosecutors will need clear evidence to separate accidents, traditional land-clearing burns and deliberate arson, a hard task when more than 100 fires burn at once. Second, the claim of foreign links. If cases allege direction from outside, they could move into national security courts and affect relations with other countries. Third, foreign cooperation. Restarting executions could change Algeria's position in international debates on the death penalty and in police and court cooperation, where other states often require promises not to execute before they extradite suspects or share evidence. The child abduction part follows a different logic. By linking a death sentence to torture, sexual assault or mutilation, the bill limits a judge's choice at sentencing but gives more weight to how courts define those aggravating acts, which will shape charges far beyond wildfire cases.
