Amnesty International has urged Algeria to abandon plans to expand the death penalty to include wildfire arson and to halt any move to resume executions after recent fires killed at least 12 people and injured 54. The group warned the proposals could be used to target political opponents and noted 20 people were detained between July 26 and September 10. Amnesty called for independent investigations and for the government to focus on tackling the root causes of climate-driven wildfires.
Amnesty Urges Algeria To Drop Death-Penalty Expansion After Devastating Wildfires
Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is facing criticism for threatening to resume the death penalty after a 30-year moratorium [Gregoria Borgia/AP Photo]
Amnesty International has called on Algeria to abandon plans to broaden the death penalty and to halt any move to resume executions after recent wildfires that killed at least 12 people and injured 54.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the human rights organisation demanded an immediate reversal of presidential directives from Abdelmadjid Tebboune. Algeria has not carried out an execution in more than 30 years.
After the blazes swept through the Kabylie region and other parts of northeastern Algeria, President Tebboune instructed Justice Minister Lotfi Boudjemaa to amend the penal code to add arson — along with certain child abduction and abuse offences — to the list of crimes eligible for the death penalty. Tebboune said anyone sentenced to death would retain the right to appeal before any execution could proceed.
Amnesty Warns Of Political Targeting
Amnesty accused Algerian authorities of using the proposed extension of capital punishment to target political opponents. The rights group reported that 20 people were detained pending investigations for alleged arson and subversion between July 26 and September 10 — charges that can be treated as terrorism-related under Algerian law.
"Accountability for the devastating loss of life caused by wildfires cannot be reduced to pursuing alleged perpetrators of arson," Amnesty International said, urging independent investigations and due process.
The organisation pointed to the 2021 wildfires that killed about 90 people, after which Algerian courts prosecuted dozens of individuals on terrorism-related charges and blamed the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie (MAK), an opposition group the state designates as a terrorist organisation.
Calls For Climate Resilience And Rule Of Law
Amnesty urged the government to address the underlying causes of increasingly severe, climate-driven wildfires — including land management, emergency response capacity and preparedness — rather than focusing primarily on criminal prosecutions. The group emphasised the need for transparent, rights-respecting investigations and for safeguards that prevent the politicisation of criminal law.
Context: The proposed legal changes come as Algerians and regional observers call for both accountability and policy measures to reduce the human and environmental toll of recurring fires.
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