Lebanon’s parliament votes to abolish the death penalty

Lebanon’s parliament has voted to abolish the death penalty, making it the first country in the Middle East to officially abolish the death penalty.

This is reported by the BBC.

On Tuesday, August 11, a majority of the 128-seat Lebanese parliament voted in favor of the bill, with Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc opposing it.

The document will now be reviewed by the Cabinet of Ministers, after which it will be submitted to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun for signature. The country’s government has already stated that it supports the abolition of the death penalty.

Lebanon has not carried out executions since January 2024, but the country’s courts have continued to impose death sentences. Human rights activists estimate that more than 78 people are currently on death row.

The new law provides for the replacement of the death penalty with life imprisonment with hard labor. However, the document does not yet specify in detail how such a punishment will be carried out.

Lebanese law has previously allowed for forced labor, but courts have rarely imposed the punishment in recent years, a situation complicated by the country’s financial crisis and overcrowded prisons.

The parliament’s decision was the result of a years-long campaign by human rights organizations and lawyers who sought to eliminate the death penalty from Lebanese law.

Previously, the death penalty in Lebanon could be imposed for a number of particularly serious crimes, including aggravated murder, certain crimes related to terrorism, treason, espionage, and crimes against state security.

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