Algeria faces calls to drop death penalty plans after wildfires

Rights group warns Algeria could exploit proposed death penalty laws to suppress domestic political opposition.

Algeria residents mourn neighbours lost in wildfire aftermath

Amnesty International has urged Algeria to abandon plans to expand the death penalty and resume executions, following presidential moves to make wildfire arson a capital crime.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the human rights organisation called for an immediate halt to President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s directives. Algeria has not carried out an execution in more than 30 years.

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The push to broaden capital punishment sentencing gained momentum following devastating wildfires that killed at least 12 people and injured 54 others last month.

The flames wiped out entire villages across the Kabylie region and other parts of northeastern Algeria, the statement said.

In the aftermath of the fires, Tebboune instructed Justice Minister Lotfi Boudjemaa to amend the law to include arson as well as “child abductors and abusers”.

Anyone sentenced to death could exercise their right to appeal before being executed, Tebboune said.

Amnesty accused Algerian authorities of using the proposed expanded death penalty to target political opposition groups.

The rights group said authorities arrested 20 people pending investigations for arson and subversion – a potentially terrorism-related charge – between July 26 and September 10.

During the 2021 wildfires that left 90 dead, the government prosecuted scores of people on terrorism-related charges, blaming the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie (MAK), an opposition group that the government classifies as a terrorist organisation.

Amnesty urged the government to address the root cause of the climate catastrophes instead of pursuing “arsonists”.

“Accountability for the devastating loss of life caused by wildfires cannot be reduced to pursuing alleged perpetrators of arson,” the human rights group stated.

人权组织警告称，阿尔及利亚可能利用拟议的死刑法案来镇压国内政治反对派。

阿尔及利亚居民悼念在山火中丧生的邻居

在阿尔及利亚总统采取行动将纵火致死定为死罪之后，国际特赦组织敦促阿尔及利亚放弃扩大死刑范围和恢复执行死刑的计划。

该人权组织周二发表声明，呼吁立即停止执行总统阿卜杜勒马吉德·特本的指令。阿尔及利亚已有30多年未执行死刑。

阿尔及利亚居民悼念在山火中丧生的邻居（共3条记录，此为第1条）

阿尔及利亚山火死亡人数预计将上升（共3份名单中的第2份），幸存者称已无物可逃。

阿尔及利亚总统寻求对纵火者判处死刑（共3条，此为第3条）

上个月，毁灭性的野火造成至少 12 人死亡，54 人受伤，此后，扩大死刑适用范围的呼声日益高涨。

声明称，大火摧毁了卡比利地区和阿尔及利亚东北部其他地区的整个村庄。

火灾发生后，特本指示司法部长洛特菲·布杰马修改法律，将纵火罪以及“绑架和虐待儿童者”纳入其中。

特本表示，任何被判处死刑的人都可以在被执行死刑前行使上诉权。

国际特赦组织指责阿尔及利亚当局利用拟议扩大死刑范围的措施来打击政治反对派团体。

人权组织称，当局在 7 月 26 日至 9 月 10 日期间逮捕了 20 人，等待对纵火和颠覆罪（可能与恐怖主义有关的指控）进行调查。

2021 年的野火造成 90 人死亡，政府以与恐怖主义相关的罪名起诉了数十人，并将矛头指向卡比利自决运动（MAK），这是一个被政府列为恐怖组织的反对派团体。

国际特赦组织敦促政府解决气候灾难的根源问题，而不是追究“纵火犯”的责任。

“对于野火造成的毁灭性生命损失，追究责任不能仅仅局限于追究涉嫌纵火者的责任，”该人权组织表示。