Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune vowed to “tighten lawful penalties against any aggressor on the national medical personnel.”
In a statement after the cabinet meeting, Tebboune said that he decided to set an appropriate punitive system to protect health workers against the increasing attacks they face while performing their duties.
He pointed out that a new bill would be issued “to protect all the country’s medical personnel and workers”, adding that the penalties would be severe and range between five to ten years in prison.
He also indicated that the violators will have to pay a fine of approximately $20,000, as well as the financial compensation requested from the targeted health facility.
“All medical workers are under the full protection of the Algerian government and people,” Tebboune stressed.
The president stated that the investigations of the security services concluded that a significant number of acts against institutions affiliated with the health sector were only intended to harm the reputation of Algeria and show that it is incapable of managing the health crisis.
Tebboune also referred to the incidents of emptying and stealing the oxygen tanks from medical facilities, as well as stealing dead bodies from hospitals and displaying them on streets with the aim of creating an uproar on social media networks.
However, the head of the association of public health practitioners, Elias Mrabet, said that the medical and paramedical teams need equipment to protect them from the coronavirus infection, not punishments against aggressors.
Mrabet told Asharq al-Awsat that the teams should have suitable means of transportation to carry coronavirus patients.
