Lebanon abolishes the death penalty

The Lebanese parliament has abolished the death penalty, making Lebanon the first country in the Arab world to replace it with life imprisonment with hard labour. Lebanon has observed an unofficial moratorium on executions since January 2004. Since then, however, dozens of death sentences have been handed down, though these were subsequently suspended or commuted. A majority of the 128 MPs voted in favour of abolition, with the exception of the Hezbollah parliamentary bloc.

The local parliament’s decision makes Lebanon the first country in the Arab world to replace the death penalty with life imprisonment with aggravated hard labour. The Minister of Justice Adel Nassar, who was present in Parliament, described it as a “historic step” for the country. Human rights organisations, which had called for the formalisation of the moratorium or the complete abolition of the death penalty, also welcomed the outcome of the vote.