Lebanon’s parliament on Tuesday abolished the death penalty, making it the first country in the Middle East to replace capital punishment with a sentence of life imprisonment with hard labour.
The majority of Lebanon's 128-member parliament voted in favour of ending the death penalty, with the exception of the parliamentary bloc of Hezbollah.
Justice Minister Adel Nassar called the abolition "historic", adding that the spectre of capital punishment had previously prevented Beirut from obtaining the extradition of suspects from countries where it has been outlawed.
Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at the NGO Human Rights Watch, told French news agency AFP the move was "a monumental step for human rights in the country, representing a clear break from a cruel and arbitrary sentence that should never be imposed".
“Capital punishment is unique in its cruelty and finality and is plagued with arbitrariness, prejudice and error,” he said.
Lebanon has not carried out an execution since 2004, and the punishment of hard labour has rarely been implemented in recent years due to lack of resources and overcrowding in the country's prisons.
Protest by families
The abolition of the death penalty comes as Lebanon's parliament also debates a controversial general amnesty law that could see the release of convicted militants and drug dealers, or a reduction in their sentences, with some exceptions.
Family members of Lebanese servicemen killed or attacked by Islamist militant groups have repeatedly protested against this and the abolition, with some saying they had hoped to see those who killed their family members executed.
Hezbollah did not immediately issue a comment about the landmark vote. Neither did Lebanon’s diverse religious institutions. The death penalty is considered legal in some of their respective court systems.
According to a report by Amnesty International, more than 2,500 executions took place in the Middle East in 2025.
By far the highest number took place in Iran (2,159), followed by Saudi Arabia (356) and Yemen (51). Egypt executed 23 people, Kuwait 17 and the United Arab Emirates three.
In Lebanon, one person was sentenced to death in 2025 while 57 were due to be executed by the end of 2025.
Amnesty called Lebanon’s vote to abolish capital punishment a “landmark victory".
(with newswires)
