Arabic version: الرئيس الجزائري يسعى إلى إقرار عقوبة الإعدام لمرتكبي الحرائق المتعمدة

According to BBC News, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has called for the death penalty to be reinstated for arsonists after a wave of forest fires killed at least 12 people. He ordered the justice ministry to prepare changes to criminal law introducing capital punishment for people convicted of intentionally starting fires in forested areas.

More than 100 wildfires have been recorded in recent days in north-eastern Algeria, with most extinguished. Deadly blazes swept across large parts of northern Algeria last week, causing widespread destruction, injuring dozens of people and displacing thousands. Civil authorities were still fighting some fires on Sunday afternoon; the Algerian Press Service said 18 of 19 fires reported in the previous 24 hours had been put out.

Tebboune said on Saturday that he was not ruling out foul play and that investigations would be necessary, particularly given the intensity of the fires. On Sunday, he set a 15 September deadline for amendments that would provide a death sentence for anyone convicted of deliberately starting a forest fire.

Capital punishment remains in Algeria’s penal code for some offences, although no execution has been carried out since 1993. Under current law, deliberately starting forest fires can bring a prison sentence of up to 30 years, or life imprisonment in certain cases. The president also ordered compensation for affected families, repairs to damaged homes and essential services, and investigations into the scale of damage and losses.

Algeria regularly experiences forest fires during the summer months. Climate change has exacerbated the intensity and severity of recent wildfires in the country, while an intense heatwave has affected Algeria and Tunisia.