Lebanon becomes first Arab nation to abolish capital punishment

AKIPRESS.COM – The Parliament of Lebanon has passed a law abolishing the death penalty, replacing it with life imprisonment with hard labor, according to ABC News.

Following the vote, Lebanon became the first Arab country to formally abolish capital punishment.

A majority of the 128 members of parliament voted in favor of the measure, while Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc opposed it, government sources reported.

The bill was originally introduced to parliament in October 2025 by seven lawmakers representing various political factions, and its text was amended prior to its final adoption.

Lebanon had observed an unofficial moratorium on executions since 2004, though courts continued to hand down death sentences. In June, the National Human Rights Commission of Lebanon voiced support for the bill’s progress and called for hard labor penalties to be removed from the country’s legislation as well.