Algeria: Lawmakers extend the death penalty to forest arsonists

Algerian lawmakers adopted a revision of the penal code on October 1, 2026, which extends the death penalty to those who intentionally set fire to forests and fields, reports RFI. The same text applies capital punishment to child abductions accompanied by serious violence—such as torture, sexual assault, or mutilation, specifies Africanews.

The measure is a response to the fires that ravaged the country during the summer of 2026. According to Africanews, the official death toll stands at twelve, though witnesses have reported dozens of victims. It was President Abdelmadjid Tebboune who requested, in August 2026, the revision of the penal code to expand the list of crimes punishable by death.

Capital punishment with no executions since 1993

The extension occurs within a unique legal framework: Algeria has applied a moratorium on executions since 1993, according to Africanews. Death sentences continue to be handed down, particularly in terrorism cases, but none have been carried out. President Tebboune has, however, indicated that the convicts in question would be executed once their appeals are exhausted, which would mark a break with thirty-three years of practice.

The Minister of Justice, Lotfi Boudjemaa, defends the text as proportionate: he believes the adoption of the death penalty for these acts constitutes "the appropriate legal response" to eradicate these crimes.

What the text says about the fight against fires

The bet is on maximum deterrence. It leaves two questions raised by the summer 2026 fires unanswered: the means of prevention and firefighting, and the ability of investigations to establish the intentionality of a fire's start. Classifying a fire as intentional and identifying the perpetrator requires demanding technical expertise; in a case where the sanction is irreversible, the margin for judicial error becomes the central issue.

The reform is not final. The Senate must examine the text before its ratification by the President of the Republic, indicates Africanews. It is during this stage that the gap between a law intended as a deterrent and an actual break in the Algerian moratorium on the death penalty could play out—a development that directly concerns a continental debate, as Africa is among the regions where the abolitionist movement has made the most progress in recent decades.