Algeria introduces death penalty for arsonists after deadly wildfires

Algeria has enacted a new law that mandates the death penalty for individuals found guilty of intentionally setting fire to forests or agricultural lands following a series of devastating wildfires that struck various regions of the country.

On Thursday, members of the national assembly approved the legislation, which additionally designates child abduction—crimes involving torture, sexual assault, or mutilation—as a capital offense.

Capital punishment remains part of Algeria’s penal code for certain offenses, though no execution has occurred since 1993.

Official counts report twelve deaths, while independent media sources estimate the true toll may far exceed this number.

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune directed the Ministry of Justice to introduce these criminal law revisions after more than one hundred fires erupted in the northeastern part of the country during an intense heatwave across North Africa.

The statute allows conviction for deliberate arson of forests, woodlands, or other field areas to result in execution.

The death penalty has further been extended to child kidnapping cases involving torture, sexual abuse, or mutilation.

Justice Minister Lotfi Boudjemaa told parliament that adopting the death penalty for such offenses constitutes the appropriate legal response to suppress these crimes.

The Senate, known as the Council of the Nation, will review the amendment before it receives formal ratification by President Tebboune.

Investigative reporter Nozha Khelalef has assembled a list of confirmed victims drawn from family death notices and information supplied by local authorities.

Her tally, listed on the independent news website Twala, external, puts the death toll at 200.

Algeria routinely experiences summer wildfires, yet climate change has intensified their frequency and destructive impact.

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