“Amnesty International-Algeria” opposes MP’s demand for execution of children’s abductors and killers

Amnesty International has firmly objected to use of the death penalty in Algeria, following the Algerian MP’s call for the imposition of capital punishment for those involved in children’s abduction and killing during a parliamentary session devoted to the projected amendments to the current penal code at the National Popular Assembly in Algiers.

The representative of Amnesty International-Algeria, Ibrahim Mhadid, told Echorouk that the “right to life” enshrined in the Universal Declaration of human rights was  irreducible and “it’s not scientifically proven that the death penalty would reduce crime rates, as he put it”.

Mr Mhadid further declined to engage in religious matters, as religion provides for the capital punishment to be meted out to the perpetrators, saying “we are a legal organization that defends solely human rights and we don’t want to interfere in the religious sphere by confronting the relevant specialists about this vexed issue.”

Long-winded debates about the burning issue in many parts of the world including Algeria showed that there are both opponents and supporters of the death penalty, he affirmed.

While expressing solidarity with the families of the victims, Ibrahim Mhadid believes that the adequate solution to avert such heinous crimes is to establish a sound education of human rights, and the imposition by justice of long- term prison sentences against those found guilty after standing trial.

He also underlined that the death penalty violates the right to life – the most basic of all human rights – and the right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

“The death penalty does not make the world a safer place. There exists no conclusive evidence that it deters crime more effectively than other punishments”, he added.

“No matter how developed a justice system might be, it will always remain susceptible to human failure and, therefore, it runs the risk of committing irrevocable and irreparable damage”, the Amnesty International representative in Algeria further pointed out.