Algeria arrests 36 over lynching of man falsely accused of starting wildfires

Algerian authorities announced on Sunday that they have detained 36 people for the shocking lynching and murder of Jamal Bin Ismail, a man falsely accused of starting deadly wildfires that have claimed scores of lives in the country over the past week.

An angry mob was previously seen in a video dragging Bin Ismail out of a police car after he was wrongly detained on suspicion of starting forest fires that have ripped through Algeria’s northcentral Tizi Ouzou province.

The video then shows the crowd beating Bin Ismail to death and setting his body on fire.

On Sunday judicial police official Shaqour Mohammed announced at a press conference that "security authorities arrested 36 people, including the man seen stabbing the victim with a knife".

"Among the detained are three women, one of them was seen in the video calling for the beheading of the victim after he was killed," Mohamed added.

At least 69 people have been killed as a result of the deadly wildfires. Authorities earlier said that they suspected arson may have been the cause.

Mohamed said that some of those involved in Bin Ismail's lynching had tried to flee the country but had been caught before they were able to, adding that all those involved had been detained.

He said that the spread of the video on social media had helped lead to the arrest of all the accused.

At the press conference taped confessions by the accused were broadcast, including from the woman accused of inciting Bin Ismail's beheading.

 The Algerian authorities have recently been under scrutiny for failing to prevent Bin Ismail's death.