Today, Thursday, representatives of the National People’s Assembly approved, by a majority, the law amending and supplementing the law containing the Penal Code, which includes activating the death penalty for perpetrators of arson and child kidnapping crimes.
The draft law was voted on in a public session chaired by the Speaker of the Council, Ms. Khalida Boufdash, in the presence of the Minister of Relations with Parliament, Ms. Najiba Djilali.
This text includes “approval of the death penalty against perpetrators of crimes of intentionally setting fires to forests and fields and intentional sabotage of public and private property, committed on behalf of foreign parties, in the context of treason, espionage, or organized crime, as well as against anyone who attempts to undermine public security and order, national unity, or economic and environmental stability.”
The Penal Code, in its amended form, came to strengthen the criminal protection of children by approving the death penalty for those who abduct children by any means, as the punishment becomes more severe if the crime is accompanied by torture, sexual assault, or abuse.
It also stipulates that a person convicted of committing an act related to fires or child abuse shall not benefit from the mitigating circumstances recognized by the Penal Code.
