Lebanon abolishes death penalty, a historic first in the Arab world
Lebanon's parliament on Tuesday voted to abolish the death penalty, making the country the first in the Arab world to end capital punishment. The legislation, passed on August 11, 2026, replaces the death penalty with life imprisonment with aggravated hard labour. The law will come into effect after it is signed by the President and published in the Official Gazette, the country's official journal.
Under the new law, sentences for people facing the death penalty or life imprisonment will be reduced to 17 "prison years." In Lebanon, a prison year is generally calculated as nine months, which means the effective term is 12 years and nine months of actual imprisonment, according to lawmaker Imad al-Hout, who supported the bill. The calculation is a distinctive feature of the Lebanese penal system, and the reduction applies to both those already sentenced and those who may be facing the death penalty in future trials.
Lebanon has maintained an unofficial moratorium on executions since January 2004, meaning no executions have been carried out for more than two decades. However, courts have continued to impose death sentences, leaving a backlog of cases. At the end of 2025, 85 people were on death row, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Justice's Directorate of Prisons. With the new legislation, these individuals will have their sentences commuted to the reduced term, although the exact process for recalculating their sentences will be decided by the judiciary.
The decision places Lebanon among a growing majority of countries that have moved away from capital punishment. Amnesty International's latest report on death sentences and executions says nearly three-quarters of the world's countries had abolished the death penalty in law or in practice as of December 2025. Some countries that have abolished it in practice have retained it in law but have not carried out executions for at least 10 years. Others have abolished it only for ordinary crimes, while continuing to permit it for exceptional offences such as certain crimes under military law or offences committed in extraordinary circumstances.
Despite the long-term global decline in the use of capital punishment, executions increased sharply in 2025. Amnesty International recorded at least 2,707 executions worldwide in 2025, a 78% rise from 1,518 in 2024. The increase was driven largely by Iran, where at least 2,159 executions were recorded in 2025 — more than double the 972 executions in 2024. The figures exclude China, which classifies execution data as a state secret.
The move makes Lebanon the first Arab country to abolish the death penalty, a distinction that is notable in a region where capital punishment remains legal in many countries. While some Arab states have stopped carrying out executions by imposing moratoriums, few have formally eliminated the penalty through legislation. The new law now awaits the President's signature, after which it will be published in the Official Gazette and become final. For the 85 people on death row, the law offers a reduction of their sentences, though the practical implementation will depend on how the judicial system applies the new provisions.
