'Death sentences for 49' for man burned to death wrongly linked to wildfires

Djamel Ben Ismail, 38, was beaten and burned to death by a mob in August last year after being wrongly accused of provoking forest fires in Algeria. sentenced 49 people to death

Djamel Ben Ismail was killed by a mob in Algeria

A court has sentenced 49 people to death after a mob killed a man by beating and burning him alive when they falsely blamed him for starting devastating wildfires in Algeria, a- we reported.

Djamel Ben Ismail, 38, was attacked by a mob in Larbaa Nath Irathen, Tizi Ouzou district which was one of the areas worst affected by a forest fire in August last year which killed at least 90 people.

He was dragged from a police station by a mob who then beat and burned him to death.

Ben Ismail had voluntarily surrendered to police after learning he was suspected of arson and was under the protection of officers when he was attacked.

It was later discovered that Ismail was innocent of the charges.

Algeria suffered forest fires in 2021 that claimed more than 90 lives (

Picture:

Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A prosecution statement at the time said the mob “dragged him outside, beat him and set him on fire, resulting in his death.”

He also said, "The police officers who intervened to protect and assist the victim were also injured."

While he had been linked to the cause of the fires, he had actually traveled to the area as a volunteer to help put them out.

Following prosecution, a court in Dar El Beida "sentenced 49 people to execution for murder and mutilation of his body", reported .

Algerian authorities reportedly accused the separatist group Independence of Tribes of inciting the crowd, which the organization denied.