Lebanon's parliament voted Tuesday to abolish the death penalty, making it the first country in the Arab world to replace capital punishment with life imprisonment combined with aggravated hard labor.
A majority of the 128-member parliament approved the legislative amendments, with the exception of the parliamentary bloc of Hezbollah. The changes modify Article 37 of the Penal Code and annul Article 43, as well as Articles 420 to 424 of the Lebanese Code of Criminal Procedure, which previously established procedures for capital punishment.
Lebanon has maintained an unofficial moratorium on executions since January 2004, with no executions carried out in the 22 years since. However, dozens of death sentences have been issued during this period, though they were subsequently suspended or commuted. According to reports, approximately 80 people were on death row in the country at the time of the vote.
Under the new legislation, individuals previously sentenced to death will have their sentences converted to life imprisonment with aggravated hard labor. The same penalty will apply to those convicted of capital crimes after the law takes effect. The law covers crimes including homicide, terrorism, and treason, which previously carried the death penalty under Lebanese law.
Justice Minister Adel Nassar, who was present in parliament during the vote, described the abolition as a "historic step" for the country. Nassar stated to local media that with this abolition, Lebanon "regains its pioneering role in the region as a defender of human rights," and that by abolishing capital punishment, Lebanon has chosen to combat murder rather than resort to the death penalty.
The deputy Abdurrahman al-Bizri led the proposal that resulted in the legislative changes. The amendment process involved modifying existing penal code provisions to eliminate capital punishment from Lebanese law entirely.