BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanon’s parliament abolishes the death penalty, making it the first country in the Arab world to replace the sentence with life imprisonment with aggravated hard labor.
The tiny Mediterranean country has committed to an unofficial moratorium on executions since January 2004. However, dozens of death sentences since then have been issued, but later suspended or commuted.
A majority of Lebanon’s 128-member parliament votes in favor of ending the death penalty, with the exception of the parliamentary bloc of Hezbollah.
Justice Minister Adel Nassar, who was in Parliament, calls it a “historic step” for the country.
Rights groups that have called for formalizing the moratorium or ending the death penalty altogether have also celebrated the vote.
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From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, August 11, 2026
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