Farouk Ksentini “150 death sentences per year passed in Algeria through mistaken judicial decisions”

A host of International human rights activists and Algerian jurists, attending a regional conference at the conference hall of the Hilton Hotel in eastern Algiers devoted to vexed issue of the death penalty, have hit out against those movements advocating the strict implementation of capital punishment in the name of “Sharia” or Islamic law.

They argued in this connection that the death penalty passed against convicted defendants did not ensure justice and equity.

The research and communication manager at the international penal reform organization, Al Haithem Al-Shibli told the conference that human life is too precious to be wasted through litigations and investigations marred by errors and blunders during the judicial process.

He argued that killing a person in the name of the law didn’t represent fairness and justice.

Professor Shibli also criticized the application of death retribution, stressing that we couldn’t allow a few poorly-informed people to impose coercively their convictions on others as human life is sacred.

For his part, seasoned Algerian jurist and lawyer, Miloud Brahimi, affirmed that the most important justification to be put forward for the abolition of the death penalty was the judicial errors committed by some judges in criminal courts.

The chairman of the national advisory commission for the promotion and safeguarding of human rights, Farouk Ksentini, said that the final say on this burning issue remained with the Algerian lawmakers.

He underscored that over 150 death sentences handed down by criminal courts per year in Algeria were marred by judicial mistakes.

But with regard to the kidnapping phenomenon in Algeria, Farouk Ksentini pointed out that the death penalty could be considered for those culprits involved in the abduction, sexual abuse and murder of children.