An Algerian military officer and close ally of the former army chief has been sentenced to death over charges of “high treason”, the French-language daily El Watan reported Sunday. Guermit Bounouira, who was known to be close to late army chief Ahmed Gaid Salah, appeared Thursday in front of an appeals court where he was found guilty of a roster of charges including disclosing classified information to third parties or states and harming the army’s interests. While courts continue to hand out death sentences in Algeria, there has been a moratorium on capital punishment since 1993. Bounouira, w…