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Algeria to Impose Death Penalty for Deliberate Forest Fires
(MENAFN) Algeria's president ordered the introduction of the death penalty for deliberately setting forest fires on Sunday, following a wave of blazes across the country that killed 12 people.
Abdelmadjid Tebboune issued the directive during a high-level meeting on measures to address the aftermath of the fires, attended by senior civilian and military officials, state TV reported.
He instructed the justice minister to submit an amendment to the penal code by Sept. 15 that would introduce capital punishment for anyone convicted of intentionally setting fire to forested areas. State television said the sentence would only be carried out once all legal avenues of appeal had been exhausted.
The death penalty remains on Algeria's criminal code for several offenses, though the country has upheld a de facto moratorium on executions since 1993. Under current law, deliberately setting forest fires carries a penalty of up to 30 years in prison, or life imprisonment in certain cases.
Compensation for Affected Families, Utilities to Be Restored by Weekend
Tebboune also directed provincial governors to hand over all available information related to the outbreak of the fires to security authorities.
"We saw videos and noticed that a number of fires broke out at the same time, at around 1 am, which raises many questions," he said.
The president further ordered immediate compensation for affected families, with committees to be formed to assess losses and determine the value of damaged property. He said electricity, gas, water, and telecommunications networks in affected areas must be repaired by next Saturday at the latest, while damaged homes should be restored as quickly as possible.
Tebboune also instructed the housing minister to arrange for construction companies to repair damaged homes within set deadlines, saying life in fire-hit areas should return to normal within a week.
On Wednesday, Algeria's Interior Ministry said 12 people had been killed in the recent wave of wildfires across several eastern provinces, according to local media.
Abdelmadjid Tebboune issued the directive during a high-level meeting on measures to address the aftermath of the fires, attended by senior civilian and military officials, state TV reported.
He instructed the justice minister to submit an amendment to the penal code by Sept. 15 that would introduce capital punishment for anyone convicted of intentionally setting fire to forested areas. State television said the sentence would only be carried out once all legal avenues of appeal had been exhausted.
The death penalty remains on Algeria's criminal code for several offenses, though the country has upheld a de facto moratorium on executions since 1993. Under current law, deliberately setting forest fires carries a penalty of up to 30 years in prison, or life imprisonment in certain cases.
Compensation for Affected Families, Utilities to Be Restored by Weekend
Tebboune also directed provincial governors to hand over all available information related to the outbreak of the fires to security authorities.
"We saw videos and noticed that a number of fires broke out at the same time, at around 1 am, which raises many questions," he said.
The president further ordered immediate compensation for affected families, with committees to be formed to assess losses and determine the value of damaged property. He said electricity, gas, water, and telecommunications networks in affected areas must be repaired by next Saturday at the latest, while damaged homes should be restored as quickly as possible.
Tebboune also instructed the housing minister to arrange for construction companies to repair damaged homes within set deadlines, saying life in fire-hit areas should return to normal within a week.
On Wednesday, Algeria's Interior Ministry said 12 people had been killed in the recent wave of wildfires across several eastern provinces, according to local media.
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