An Algerian court sentenced 49 people to death Thursday for the brutal mob killing of a painter who had been suspected of starting devastating wildfires -- but had actually come to help fight them, according to defense lawyers and the state news agency.
The killing last year in the Kabylie region of northeast Algeria shocked the country, especially after graphic images of it were shared on social media. It came as the mountainous Berber region was reeling from wildfires that killed some 90 people, including soldiers trying to tame the flames.
