Lebanon's parliament voted on Tuesday to abolish the death penalty, with a majority of the 128-member assembly backing the measure and making Lebanon the first country in the Middle East to formally end capital punishment. The Hezbollah parliamentary bloc voted against the legislation.
Lebanon's parliament votes to abolish capital punishment
Lebanon's parliament voted on Tuesday to abolish the death penalty, with a majority of the 128-member assembly backing the measure and making Lebanon the first country in the Middle East to formally end capital punishment. The Hezbollah parliamentary bloc voted against the legislation.
Under the new law, the death sentence will be replaced with life imprisonment with hard labour. However, both sources note that the legislation does not yet specify in detail how this punishment would be enforced in practice. Hard labour is already written into Lebanese law but has rarely been implemented in recent years, with the country's financial crisis and overcrowded prisons limiting authorities' resources and capacity.
Lebanon has not carried out an execution since January 2004, when a de facto moratorium on executions began. According to Al Jazeera, an execution required a decree signed by the president, prime minister, and justice minister, and no such decree has been signed since that year. Courts have nonetheless continued to hand down death sentences during this period.
The two sources report differing figures for the number of people currently on death row. Al Jazeera, citing the Lebanese Ministry of Justice's Directorate of Prisons, states that 85 people were facing death sentences at the end of 2025, while BBC News reports rights groups estimate more than 78 people remain on death row.
Justice Minister Adel Nassar, who was present in parliament, described the vote as a 'historic step' for the country, according to Al Jazeera. According to BBC News, the Lebanese government had already expressed its support for the measure before the vote.
According to BBC News, the legislation must now go to the cabinet before being forwarded to President Joseph Aoun for signing.
Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa director, Heba Morayef, described the move as 'a major milestone and a victory for human rights,' saying it transforms 'a precarious hiatus in executions into lasting legal protection upholding the right to life,' according to Al Jazeera.
According to BBC News, Oragit Younan, co-founder of the Lebanese Association for Civil Rights, said she led a nearly three-decade campaign for abolition. 'We cannot solve a crime with a crime or end violence with violence,' she told the BBC.
According to BBC News, previous efforts to abolish capital punishment in Lebanon failed, including legislation introduced in parliament in 2004 and a proposal from the justice ministry in 2008.
Under previous Lebanese law, according to BBC News, the death penalty could be imposed for offences including aggravated murder, certain terrorism-related crimes resulting in death, treason, espionage, and offences against state security.
According to Al Jazeera, Lebanon's abolition debate is taking place alongside parliamentary discussion of a controversial general amnesty law — the largest since the end of its 15-year civil war in 1990 — that could reduce sentences or release some people convicted of violent offences. Family members of Lebanese soldiers and servicemen killed in attacks have reportedly protested against that law, with some saying they had hoped to see perpetrators executed rather than receive reduced sentences.
Where sources differ
- The number of people on death row differs between sources: Al Jazeera, citing the Lebanese Ministry of Justice's Directorate of Prisons, reports 85 people were facing death sentences at the end of 2025, while BBC News states rights groups estimate more than 78 people remain on death row.
- No comment from the Hezbollah parliamentary bloc explaining its opposition to the legislation.
- No confirmed timeline for when the cabinet will review the legislation or when President Joseph Aoun may sign it.
- No details on how 'aggravated hard labour' or 'hard labour with life imprisonment' will be implemented given the noted resource and prison capacity constraints.
- The outcome or status of the separate general amnesty law debate mentioned by Al Jazeera is not established.
- No independent verification of the death row population figure from a source other than the Lebanese Ministry of Justice or unspecified rights groups.
- Al Jazeera English — original — by Al Jazeera Staff
- BBC News — by Samantha Granville
Read the original at Al Jazeera English