Lebanon Becomes First Arab Country to Formally Abolish the Death Penalty
In a landmark legislative decision, the Lebanese parliament voted to officially abolish capital punishment, making Lebanon the first Arab nation to formally end the practice.
The approved draft law replaces the death penalty with life imprisonment with aggravated hard labor. Under the amended measure, past capital offenses will carry standard life sentences, while future severe crimes will be subject to aggravated hard labor.
Justice Minister Adel Nassar hailed the decision as a “historic step” for the country’s legal system. He noted that the presence of capital punishment had long complicated legal relations with anti-death penalty nations, often preventing Beirut from securing the extradition of key criminal suspects.
Human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, celebrated the move. Ramzi Kaiss, a Lebanon researcher for Human Rights Watch, described the vote as a monumental victory for human rights and a definitive break from a cruel sentence.
Although Lebanon had maintained an unofficial moratorium on executions since January 2004, courts continued to issue death sentences that were routinely commuted or suspended.
The vote passed with a clear majority in the 128-member parliament, drawing broad support across various political factions despite opposition from Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc. The measure was enacted alongside a broader legislative agenda currently under debate in Beirut, which includes a contested general amnesty bill.
