Death penalty in Algeria: Political parties oppose its return

Jil Jadid has opposed the effective return of the death penalty for people accused of deliberately starting fires, a measure approved by Algeria’s High Security Council after fires ravaged the east of the country, particularly Jijel.

In a statement concluding its national council’s work, the party shifted the focus toward public responsibility and governance. It said justice must identify those responsible, establish the facts and impose severe penalties within the law. But it questioned whether capital punishment was suited to the nature of the problem.

The party argued that any investigation should go beyond the people who physically started the fires. It said authorities must also examine negligence, failures and dysfunctions that may have contributed to the human toll. Punishing those at fault, the statement said, does not remove the need to understand what might have been prevented.

Jil Jadid considered two possible explanations. If the fires resulted mainly from climate disruption, worsened by poorly maintained forests and irresponsible behaviour, it said the death penalty would not be an appropriate response. If they were part of efforts by subversive forces to destabilise the state and society, the party described that as a national-security issue, but still argued that executions would not effectively address it.

The party also said any decision as fundamental as restoring executions should follow serious consultation involving all parts of society. Its position joins opposition already expressed by the Workers’ Party and the Socialist Forces Front.

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They then become a national-security issue in the face of a real threat capable of causing hundreds of victims and economic disasters.