Algeria introduces death penalty for arsonists after deadly wildfires
It is estimated more than 200 people have died in blazes in the north-east of the country over the summer.
Algeria has enacted a law that introduces the death penalty for people convicted of setting fire to forests or fields, following a series of deadly wildfires that swept through parts of the country.
On Thursday, members of the national assembly approved the bill, which also makes child abduction a capital offence.
Although capital punishment already exists in Algeria’s penal code for some crimes, no execution has been carried out since 1993.
The official death toll from the fires is 12, though independent news outlets say the number is likely far higher.
After more than 100 fires broke out in the north-east of the country during a severe heatwave in northern Africa, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune instructed the justice ministry to bring in changes to criminal law.
Under the new law, anyone found guilty of intentionally starting fires in forests, woods or fields could be executed.
The death penalty has also been expanded to cover child kidnappings involving torture, sexual assault or mutilation.
Justice Minister Lotfi Boudjemaa told parliament, according to AFP: "The adoption of the death penalty for these acts is the appropriate legal response to curb these crimes."
Boudjemaa said the harsher punishments were warranted because arson had risen to "the level of organised crime", with investigations indicating ties to "foreign parties".
Before the law is formally ratified by the president, it will be examined by the upper house, the Council of the Nation.
Investigative journalist Nozha Khelalef has been compiling the names of people believed to have died in the fires, using death notices posted by families and information shared by some local authorities.
Algeria sees forest fires every summer, but climate change has made recent wildfires in the country more intense and more severe.