According to a report by the BBC on August 11th, the Lebanese Parliament has voted to abolish capital punishment. This move will make Lebanon the first country in the Middle East to officially abolish capital punishment.
It is understood that this bill will be submitted to the cabinet for review, and then signed by Lebanese Prime Minister Joseph Aoun. The government has expressed its support for this measure.
According to Lebanese law, the death penalty has been applicable to certain serious crimes in the country, including murder involving grave circumstances, specific terrorist-related crimes resulting in death, treason, espionage activities, and crimes threatening national security.
However, since January 2004, Lebanon has never executed a death penalty in practice. In Lebanon, the execution of a death penalty requires a joint decree signed by the President, Prime Minister, and Minister of Justice. Such decrees were not signed again after 2004.
Despite this, the court continues to impose the death penalty. Human rights organizations estimate that there are more than 78 people currently detained in death cells. Though the death penalty remains a legal option in Lebanon, it is rarely implemented. Fiscal crises and prison overcrowding further restrict resources and execution capabilities of the authorities.
According to the new legislation, the death penalty will be replaced by life imprisonment and hard labor. However, the legislation does not specify how the new sentences will be implemented in practice.
In the 128-seat parliament that voted this time, most members supported the measure, while Hezbollah’s parliamentary group voted against it.
Previously, attempts to abolish the death penalty in Lebanon failed, including the legislation proposed in the parliament in 2004 and the proposal by the Ministry of Justice in 2008.
In fact, Lebanon’s move comes at a time when there is still controversy over the use of the death penalty in other regions of the Middle East. In June this year, Jordan carried out its first execution since 2017, marking the country’s reintroduction of this practice.
