The rights group publicly called on the government to drop the proposal and to adopt an official moratorium on executions, arguing that a pause is needed while broader legal reform is considered. Amnesty described such a step as "a first step towards fully abolishing the death penalty."
In a statement addressing the proposed reforms, Amnesty added, "Algeria's authorities must immediately abandon any plans to expand the scope of the death penalty or resume executions after more than three decades without carrying one out," framing its appeal as both a human rights defence and a demand for immediate restraint.
The warning follows a series of wildfires in northeastern Algeria last month. Officials put the toll at 12 dead, though witnesses and rights monitors have reported far higher numbers. Amnesty said "credible sources have since reported significantly higher casualties," including over 70 deaths in a single municipality, a figure that contrasts sharply with the government's count.
Algeria has not carried out executions since 1993, but courts continue to hand down death sentences in some cases, notably those involving terrorism. Authorities already moved this month to consider draft amendments to the penal code. Mr Tebboune has said people sentenced to death should be executed once appeals are exhausted, and he indicated the expanded list of capital offences would include "child abductors and abusers" as well as those found responsible for deliberately setting fires.
Seasonal forest fires are common in northern Algeria, where officials and analysts cite worsening drought and higher temperatures linked to climate change as factors that increase the danger and scale of blazes. Last year more than 30 people died when fires destroyed thousands of hectares of forest and farmland, and damaged hundreds of homes.
The coming days will see lawmakers and the justice ministry review the draft changes. If adopted, the reforms would immediately raise legal and political stakes by exposing people accused of arson and related crimes to capital punishment, while rights groups press for an immediate moratorium and longer term abolition.
