government: republic

state of civil and political rights: Not free

constitution: 8 September 1963; effective 22 November 1976; revised several times the last on November 12, 2008

legal system: socialist, based on French and Islamic law

legislative system: bicameral Parliament consists of the National People's Assembly (Al-Majlis Ech-Chaabi Al-Watani) and the Council of Nations

judicial system: Supreme Court

religion: Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and Jewish 1%

death row: At least 677 (up to April, 16, 2013 www.deathpenaltyworldwide.org)

year of last executions: 0-0-1993

death sentences: 23

executions: 0

situation:
Algeria’s laws prescribe the death penalty for a range of crimes including ordinary crimes. In 1992 the scope of the death penalty was extended to terrorist offences.
The Penal Code provides for the application of the death penalty for serious offences including: treason and espionage, attempts to change the regime or actions aimed at incitement, destruction of territory, sabotage to public and economic utilities, massacres and slaughters, participation in armed bands or in insurrectionary movements, counterfeiting, murder, acts of torture or cruelty, kidnapping and aggravated theft.
The political events of 1991/92 which culminated in an annulment of the vote following the election of the Islamic Front, and subsequent acts of terrorism, led to the declaration of a state of emergency and the introduction of special laws in September 1992 (anti-terrorism decree) extending the application of the death penalty. This special decree was almost entirely included in the ordinary law of 1995 that is currently applicable.
Former President Liamine Zeroual declared a moratorium on executions in December 1993 and no executions have been carried out since. The last executions took place in August 1993, when seven armed Islamists were executed. They had been condemned to death for a 1992 attack on Algiers airport by special courts, which have since been dissolved.
On April 15, 1999, Abdelaziz Bouteflika was elected President of Algeria. After 7 years of civil war, 100,000 murders, hundreds of missing people, unemployment and institutional difficulties, the new President launched a policy for reconciliation.
Since then, on the legislative front, a number of offenses for which capital punishment was provided were subject to a cancellation pure and simple (such as economic crimes) or a revision that led to the replacement of capital punishment by imprisonment. Furthermore, no new law in Algeria provides for the death penalty. In addition, several death sentences were commuted to prison terms by presidential pardon.
In June 1999, the Algerian Parliament approved a law providing for reduced prison terms to be meted out to members of armed Islamic fundamentalist groups. Militant fundamentalists who had not perpetrated any killings for six months and were ready to testify against their accomplices could benefit under this law. The following month President Abdelaziz Bouteflika pardoned thousands of fundamentalists on the basis of this national reconciliation law, which was approved by a majority of 84.96% of voters in a national referendum held in September 1999.
In 2001 President Bouteflika pardoned 7,000 prisoners and 115 inmates condemned to death had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment. However, terrorist attacks and subsequent capital sentences have continued to the present day.
Following the constitutional amendment allowing him to run for a third term, Bouteflika won the 2009 presidential election with 90.24% of the vote, thereby obtaining a new five-year term.
On June 27, 2004 Justice Minister Tayeb Belaiz pledged to abandon the death penalty for all but serious crimes such as terrorism and treason, media reports said. The newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat on June 29, 2004 reported that Belaiz’s proposal also aimed to put an end to the widely-condemned practice of torture in Algerian prisons and could be submitted to parliament by autumn. The EU had repeatedly requested Algeria to abolish the death penalty and eradicate torture. Algeria intended to co-operate more closely with European authorities, that refused to hand over Algerian nationals detained on the continent on charges of terrorism because of the existence of the death penalty in the north African state. The European Convention on Human Rights binds EU countries to reject extradition requests if there is a possibility of a death sentence. On April 3, 2006, Algeria approved a new criminal code that did not scrap the death penalty. It seemed as though the government's intent was to abolish capital punishment, however, the new code retained a full version of ‘Article 5’ foreseeing its application.
In 2012 and the first months of 2013, dozens of death sentences for terrorism, most in absentia, have been pronounced but not carried out in Algeria. At least 38 death sentences were imposed in 2013, mostly against people tried in absentia for terrorism-related offences.
On 29 May 2012, Algeria was reviewed under the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council. With regard to the issue of the death penalty, Minister for Foreign Affairs Mourad Medelci said that the cultural specificities and beliefs of Algerian society needed to be taken into account, in addition to the international standards to which Algeria adhered.
Since 2007, Algeria co-sponsored and voted in favour of the Resolution on a Moratorium on the Use of the Death Penalty at the UN General Assembly. Algeria is also part of the Support Group of the International Commission for the Promotion of the Moratorium and the Abolition of the Death Penalty.
On December 18, 2014, Algeria co-sponsored and voted in favour of the Resolution on a Moratorium on the Use of the Death Penalty at the UN General Assembly.