Lebanon becomes first Middle Eastern country to abolish death penalty

Lebanon's parliament voted on Tuesday to abolish the death penalty, a decision that makes the country the first in the Middle East to formally end capital punishment. The speaker of parliament's office confirmed that the draft law was approved following amendments made during the legislative process.

While the death penalty had remained on the books, no execution has actually been carried out in Lebanon since 2004.

Reactions and implications

Justice Minister Adel Nassar described the abolition as "historic." He noted that the existence of the death penalty had previously obstructed Beirut's efforts to secure the extradition of criminal suspects from countries that have themselves banned capital punishment, suggesting the change could ease future judicial cooperation.

Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch, told AFP that the move represents a major advance for human rights in the country and a clear departure from what he called a cruel and arbitrary punishment that should never be applied.

The abolition was passed as part of a broader package of bills being reviewed during the current parliamentary session, which also includes a long-debated general amnesty law that lawmakers have discussed for years without resolution.