Algerian gets death sentence for tourist's beheading

An Algerian court has sentenced a man to death over the kidnap and murder of a French mountaineer in 2014. Hervé Gourdel was abducted while exploring Djurdjura National Park and his graphic beheading video later emerged of his death. The Jund al-Khilafa group, affiliated to Isis, claimed responsibility. At the time, France had refused to comply with its demand to halt its air strikes against militants in Iraq and Syria. BBC News reports that Hamzaoui denied taking part in the killing, telling the court he had been charged only to ‘close the case and please the French’. Several of Gourdel's companions, who were also abducted, identified Hamzaoui as one of the kidnappers. Algeria has had a moratorium on executions since 1993.