Algeria to impose death penalty for forest fires after 12 killed
06:46, 31/08/2026, MondayU: Update: 06:55, 31/08/2026, Monday
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Algerian Civil Protection firefighters and emergency personnel conduct ground operation to battle a raging forest fire in the mountainous countryside near Jijel, Algeria, on August 28, 2026. Sixty-four wildfires were still burning across 10 Algerian provinces on Friday, most of them in the eastern Jijel province, after authorities extinguished 110 out of 174 fires that erupted nationwide over the past 24 hours.President Abdelmadjid Tebboune instructed the justice minister on Sunday to submit penal code amendments by Sept. 15 introducing capital punishment for deliberately setting forest fires, following recent blazes that killed 12 people across the North African country.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune ordered the introduction of the death penalty for deliberately setting forest fires during a high-level meeting on Sunday addressing the aftermath of recent deadly blazes, state television reported. The directive came after wildfires across the country killed 12 people, prompting the government to seek harsher penalties for arsonists targeting wooded areas. Senior civilian and military officials attended the gathering where Tebboune outlined the proposed legal changes to combat the recurring threat.
Proposed amendments
The president instructed the justice minister to submit an amendment to the penal code by Sept. 15 providing for capital punishment against anyone convicted of intentionally igniting forested areas. State media noted that the sentence would be carried out only after all legal avenues of appeal had been exhausted, maintaining procedural safeguards despite the severity of the proposed penalty.
Current legislation and moratorium
Under Algerian law currently in force, deliberately setting forest fires is punishable by up to 30 years in prison or life imprisonment in certain cases. While the death penalty remains in the country's criminal code for several offenses, Algeria has maintained a de facto moratorium on executions since 1993, though courts continue to issue capital sentences.
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