Algeria has officially expanded the death penalty to cover various crimes, including forest arson and child kidnapping, following amendments to the penal code, the state-run Algeria Press Service reported on Wednesday, triggering human rights concerns.
The amendments, which were discussed after forest fires swept through northern Algeria in August, killing 12 people, were approved by both houses of parliament last week.
The law now provides capital punishment for a range of offences, including forest arson, certain acts of incitement on social media and child abduction.
It states that anyone who “deliberately” sets fire to forests, wooded areas, fields, trees or public or private property could face the death penalty. It notes that this also applies to anyone who commits arson at the instigation of or for the benefit of a foreign state or party, or in connection with treason or collusion with an outlawed or organised criminal group.
The law also targets acts deemed to threaten security and public order, national unity, institutional stability or the national economy. It further covers acts involving damage to the environment, ecological balance, and animal and agricultural resources.
People accused of using social media to incite, encourage, finance, plan, contribute to, or prepare for any of the specified acts could also face the death penalty.
Child kidnapping is another key focus of the law, with capital punishment prescribed for those convicted of abducting, torturing, sexually assaulting or subjecting a child to brutal treatment.
Anyone convicted of these offences will not be eligible for mitigating circumstances.
Human rights concerns
The development marks a significant expansion of capital punishment in Algeria, which has not carried out an execution in more than three decades.
It has raised concerns among rights activists, who warn that the legislation's vague wording could leave it open to broad interpretation, potentially exposing more people to the death penalty.
Earlier this month, Amnesty International's deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, Diana Eltahawy, described the decision as a “devastating blow for human rights”. She added that it was also at odds with Algeria's international human rights obligations.
Some experts have also highlighted UN General Assembly resolutions calling for a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty.
Other rights commentators have noted that Algeria is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which restricts the death penalty to the “most serious crimes”, generally understood to involve intentional killing.
The covenant also prohibits states from expanding the scope of the death penalty in ways that violate its provisions.
“The amendments, which were rushed through parliament in a process devoid of meaningful consultations with relevant stakeholders, including human rights NGOs and lawyers, introduced the death penalty for broadly worded actions such as inciting, encouraging or facilitating arson, including on social media, as well as the abduction, torture and sexual assault of children,” Eltahawy said.
“While the devastating wildfires demand thorough investigations and accountability, the tragic loss of life they caused must not be used to justify further loss of life,” she continued.
Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune called for the move in August, when he accused criminals of being behind the blazes in the Jijel, Bejaia and Tizi Ouzou regions.
