Amnesty Accuses Algeria of Obstructing Efforts To Abolish Death Penalty

Amnesty International talked about the issuance of about 62 death sentences in the Algerian courts during 2015, asking Algeria to take a bold political decision to abolish the death penalty definitely from the Penal Code.

Amnesty International said, at a press conference in Algiers Sofitel Hotel, in the words of the General Manager of its branch Algeria, Hassina Ouseddik, there are demands for the abolition of death penalty, describing the states that still maintain the death penalty as “barbaric”.

“No matter what the crime is, the application of death penalty should not exist. Amnesty expresses concerns if many of the countries will continue the application of the death penalty along the lines of what was done by Saudi Arabia recently.”

Amnesty pointed to the growing death sentences in 25 countries in the world during 2015, which reached 1634 cases, including 1196 sentences that were applied only in the Middle East, higher at 50% compared with the previous year, which is the highest number that was recorded by Amnesty International since 1989. 

“The figures that Amnesty revealed do not reflect the reality because the states and government cover-up on official figures. With regard to Algeria, Justice Ministry refused to provide real information about the persons who are subject to death penalty. Convicts in Algeria with frozen death penalty in practice in 1993, are charged with terrorist cases. Algerian authorities are responsible for the continuation of judges’ decisions to apply death sentences every year, due to the lack of the political will to abolish the death penalty. Which explains the reason of not including it in the new constitution.”

Amnesty accuses Algeria of hiding behind the rejection of public opinion to put an end to the death penalty, while it considered the real reasons as purely political. 

Director of “Amnesty Algeria” claimed that people did not ask for death, even in the black decade, asserting that the Algerian authorities must be courageous in this case, because it is member of the World Organization for the Defence of Human Rights since 2013.