Lebanon’s Parliament has formally abolished the death penalty, making the country the first in the Middle East to eliminate capital punishment through legislation. Under the new law, death sentences will be replaced with life imprisonment and life imprisonment with hard labour.
The landmark legislation was approved on Tuesday after securing majority support in the 128-member Parliament. Lawmakers endorsed the bill following the adoption of several amendments, although the Hezbollah-backed parliamentary bloc voted against the proposal.
Justice Minister Adel Nassar, who attended the parliamentary session, described the decision as a “historic step” for Lebanon, saying it marks a significant advance for the country’s justice system and the protection of human rights.
Lebanon has maintained an unofficial moratorium on executions since January 2004, and no death sentence has been carried out in more than two decades. Courts, however, have continued to impose capital punishment during that period. According to the Justice Ministry’s Prison Directorate, 85 inmates remained on death row awaiting execution at the end of 2025.
The decision has been welcomed by Amnesty International, which called it a major milestone for human rights in Lebanon. Heba Morayef, the organization’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said the legislation transforms a long-standing unofficial suspension into permanent legal protection, strengthening the right to life and aligning Lebanon with the global movement to abolish the death penalty.
Despite broad support for the reform, questions remain over how the newly introduced sentence of life imprisonment with hard labour will be implemented. Several lawmakers said the practical application of the punishment has yet to be clearly defined. Although Lebanese law provides for hard labour sentences, they have rarely been enforced in recent years due to the country’s prolonged economic crisis, chronic prison overcrowding and limited correctional infrastructure.
Parliament is also debating a controversial general amnesty bill, which could become Lebanon’s most extensive amnesty law since the end of the country’s 15-year civil war in 1990. If approved, the legislation could reduce the sentences of or release some individuals convicted of violent crimes.
The proposed amnesty has drawn strong opposition from the families of fallen soldiers and security personnel, who argue that reducing the sentences of those convicted of killing their relatives would undermine justice and accountability.
Source: Al Jazeera.