Lebanon Abolishes Death Penalty, First in the Middle East

On Tuesday, Lebanon’s 128‑member parliament voted to eliminate the country’s death penalty, a historic decision that will make Lebanon the first nation in the Middle East to formally end capital punishment. The bill passed with a majority of MPs, though Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc voted against it.

Under the new law, the maximum sentence will shift from execution to life imprisonment with hard labour—although the latter detail has yet to be fully defined in the legislation. Lebanon has not executed anyone since January 2004, yet more than 78 individuals remain on death row.

The move follows years of civil‑society pressure, with activists like Oragit Younan leading a nearly three‑decade campaign to abolish capital punishment. Younan stressed, “We cannot solve a crime with a crime or end violence with violence.”

The new legislation is now slated for cabinet review before signing by President Joseph Aoun. It positions Lebanon ahead of neighbors such as Jordan and Israel, where the death penalty is still applied or expanded.