Lebanon Parliament Votes to Abolish Death Penalty

The Parliament of Lebanon voted on August 11, 2026, to formally abolish the death penalty, making it the first country in the Arab world and Middle East to do so. The legislation replaces capital punishment with life imprisonment and aggravated hard labor. While a majority of the 128-member parliament supported the measure, the parliamentary bloc of Hezbollah opposed it. The bill now moves to the cabinet before requiring final approval from President Joseph Aoun.

Lebanon had maintained an unofficial moratorium on executions since January 2004, though 85 people remained on death row as of January 2026. Justice Minister Adel Nassar described the vote as a "historic step." International officials, including UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk and European Commission Vice President Kaja Kallas, praised the decision as a principled commitment to the right to life.

The vote coincides with parliamentary debates over a controversial general amnesty law intended to address prison overcrowding by potentially releasing over 3,000 prisoners. This amnesty law excludes perpetrators of rape, human trafficking, and premeditated murder, but has sparked protests from families of soldiers killed by Islamist groups due to potential sentence reductions for militants and drug dealers. Concerns also remain regarding the state's ability to enforce aggravated hard labor given limited financial and prison resources.