Lebanon’s Parliament Approves Abolition of the Death Penalty

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s parliament has approved a law abolishing the death penalty for all crimes, replacing capital punishment with life imprisonment with aggravated hard labour in a landmark change to the country’s criminal justice system.

The legislation also converts existing death sentences to life imprisonment, according to a statement from the office of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. No official vote count was announced, although reports said a majority of the 128-member assembly supported the measure while Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc opposed it.

From moratorium to permanent legal protection

Lebanon had maintained an unofficial moratorium on executions since January 2004. Courts continued to issue death sentences during that period, but the punishments were suspended or later commuted.

Human Rights Watch cited an estimate by the Lebanese Association for Civil Rights that around 84 prisoners were facing death sentences before the reform. Removing the penalty from law turns the long-standing pause in executions into a formal legal prohibition.

The legislation abolishes capital punishment wherever it appears in Lebanese law. Earlier versions reviewed by parliamentary committees also proposed amending the Penal Code and cancelling provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure that governed executions.

Lebanon becomes a regional abolition leader

The vote makes Lebanon the first Arab country to formally abolish the death penalty for all crimes, according to international news reports and rights organisations. Justice Minister Adel Nassar described the decision as a historic step.

The European Union welcomed the move, saying Lebanon was setting a powerful example for other countries in the Middle East and beyond. The UN human rights chief and international rights groups also praised parliament’s decision.

Amnesty International said the law strengthens protection of the right to life and brings Lebanon closer to the global trend toward abolition. The organisation credited decades of advocacy by Lebanese human rights campaigners and supportive public officials.

Calls for further legal and prison reforms

Rights groups urged Lebanese authorities to ensure that every existing death sentence is formally commuted and that the new law is fully implemented. Amnesty also called on Lebanon to ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which aims at the worldwide abolition of capital punishment.

Some campaigners have raised concerns about the replacement penalty of life imprisonment with aggravated hard labour, arguing that wider sentencing reform is still needed to ensure punishments comply with human rights principles.

The change comes as parliament separately considers a proposed general amnesty covering some offences. That debate is partly linked to severe overcrowding and poor conditions in Lebanon’s prisons, but it has also prompted objections from families of victims who fear serious offenders could benefit.

A milestone after years of advocacy

The abolition proposal was prepared by Lebanese civil rights campaigners and submitted to parliament in October 2025 with the backing of seven lawmakers. Parliamentary committees approved the draft in stages before it was sent to the full assembly.

Supporters say the final vote closes a long-standing gap between Lebanon’s practice and its laws: executions had stopped for more than 20 years, but courts retained the power to impose death sentences. The new legislation removes that possibility and establishes imprisonment as the country’s most severe criminal punishment.

Sources: Lebanese Parliament Speaker’s Office, Reuters, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and AP, 11 August 2026.