Lebanon's 128-member parliament voted on Tuesday to abolish the death penalty, making the country the first in the Middle East to formally end the practice. Death sentences will be replaced with life imprisonment with aggravated hard labour, according to both sources.
Lebanon becomes first Middle Eastern country to abolish death penalty
Lebanon's 128-member parliament voted on Tuesday to abolish the death penalty, making the country the first in the Middle East to formally end the practice. Death sentences will be replaced with life imprisonment with aggravated hard labour, according to both sources.
The speaker of parliament's office announced that 'the draft law aimed at abolishing the death penalty in Lebanon was approved after amendments were made to it,' according to France 24. The vote passed by a majority, according to Al Jazeera.
Lebanon had observed an unofficial moratorium on executions since January 2004, though its courts continued to issue death sentences. According to Al Jazeera, 85 people were facing death sentences at the end of 2025, citing Lebanon's Ministry of Justice's Directorate of Prisons. France 24, citing Amnesty International, reported that at least 85 people were still on death row by January, and noted that a sentence had been issued as recently as Monday, the day before the vote.
Capital punishment in Lebanon had typically applied to major crimes including murder, terrorism, and espionage, according to France 24. The most severe crimes will now carry life sentences with hard labour, per Lebanon's state-run National News Agency as cited by France 24.
Lebanon's Justice Minister Adel Nassar described the abolition as 'historic' and said, according to France 24, that the existence of capital punishment had previously prevented Beirut from securing the extradition of suspects from countries where it is outlawed. Independent lawmaker Firas Hamdan also welcomed the vote, thanking 'everyone who contributed, for over more than two decades, to reaching this moment.'
International reactions were broadly positive. UN human rights chief Volker Türk called on Lebanon's neighbours 'that still maintain the death penalty to follow its lead in ending this inhumane practice,' describing the move as a 'powerful and principled commitment to the right to life.' The European Union said Lebanon was 'setting a powerful example for other countries in the Middle East and beyond.' France called the decision 'historic and courageous,' with Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot writing on X that the vote showed Lebanon 'remains an example through its ability to uphold the democratic values and freedoms that lie at the foundation of its existence.' UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jean Arnault said the step 'advances the country's adherence to international human rights standards and justice with human dignity.' All international reactions cited from France 24.
Human Rights Watch's Lebanon researcher Ramzi Kaiss told 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,' according to France 24. Amnesty International also welcomed the vote, with its regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, Heba Morayef, urging Lebanese authorities to commute all existing death sentences and ratify the key international treaty on abolition, according to France 24.
The abolition came as part of a series of bills under the current legislative session, which also includes a general amnesty law that has been under debate for years, according to France 24. Lebanon has repeatedly voted in favour of a moratorium on the death penalty at the United Nations, including a 2024 resolution on the issue, France 24 reported.
Across the broader region, capital punishment remains in use. France 24 noted that Amnesty International recorded more than 2,000 executions in Iran and more than 350 in Saudi Arabia last year. In June, Jordan hanged six men convicted of killing security personnel, ending a nine-year moratorium. Earlier this year, Israel's parliament passed a law permitting the execution of Palestinians convicted of fatal attacks, though Israel has applied the death penalty only twice historically, according to France 24.
Globally, close to three-quarters of the world's countries had abolished the death penalty in law or practice as of December, according to Amnesty International figures cited by Al Jazeera. Amnesty recorded 2,707 executions worldwide in 2025, up 78 percent from 1,518 in 2024, driven primarily by a more-than-doubling of executions in Iran — from 972 in 2024 to at least 2,159 in 2025. Amnesty's figures exclude what it describes as thousands of executions carried out in China, Al Jazeera noted. Executions were recorded in 17 countries, consistent with historical lows since 2018.
- The precise margin of the parliamentary vote — beyond that it was a majority — is not established by either source.
- The specific amendments made to the draft law before its approval are not described by either source.
- The timeline for commuting the existing 85 death sentences is not addressed by either source.
- Whether Lebanon intends to ratify the international treaty on abolition referenced by Amnesty International, and on what schedule, is not established.
- The position of any legislators who voted against the bill, or the size of any opposing bloc, is not reported by either source.
- Al Jazeera English — original — by AJLabs
- France 24 — by FRANCE 24
Read the original at Al Jazeera English