Arabic version: البرلمان الجزائري يقر عقوبة الإعدام لمفتعلي الحرائق

According to BBC News, Algeria’s national assembly has adopted a bill imposing the death penalty on people convicted of deliberately setting fire to forests, woods or fields following deadly wildfires in the country.

Members voted through the measure on Thursday after more than 100 fires affected north-eastern Algeria during an intense heatwave in northern Africa. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had ordered the justice ministry to introduce changes to criminal law after the fires.

The official death toll from the blazes stands at 12, although independent news outlets believe the number is substantially higher. Investigative journalist Nozha Khelalef has compiled names from family death notices and information from some local authorities; her tally, published by the independent website Twala, puts the toll at 200.

The bill also extends capital punishment to child kidnappings involving torture, sexual assault or mutilation. Algeria already includes the death penalty in its penal code for certain offences, but it has not carried out an execution since 1993.

Justice Minister Lotfi Boudjemaa told parliament, according to AFP, that the penalty was an appropriate legal response to curb the crimes. He said arson had reached the level of organised crime, with investigations suggesting links to foreign parties. The Council of the Nation will review the law before it can be officially ratified by the president.