Lebanon abolishes the death penalty, a historic decision and a first in the Middle East

This is a historic vote for Lebanon and the Middle East. The Lebanese Parliament voted on Tuesday, August 11, to abolish the death penalty, making Lebanon the first country in the region to remove capital punishment from its legislation. Lebanese Justice Minister Adel Nassar himself described the decision as "historic."

This reform enshrines in law a trend that had already been underway for some time. Lebanon had not carried out any executions since 2004, while still retaining the death penalty in its legal system and the power of courts to impose death sentences. Parliament's vote thus transforms this de facto moratorium, which had lasted for over twenty years, into a legal abolition.

The text had been the subject of several months of parliamentary work. Approved in principle by the Human Rights Committee in February 2026, then examined by the Administration and Justice Committee, it reached a new stage in July before arriving before the Chamber of Deputies. An initial vote was prevented last month due to a lack of quorum. Its final adoption this Tuesday therefore marks a major turning point in Lebanese legal history and makes Lebanon a regional pioneer on the issue of the death penalty.