Lebanon Ends Death Penalty, Replaces Executions with Life Imprisonment in Historic First for Arab World
What Happened
Lebanon’s parliament has voted to abolish the death penalty, becoming the first country in the Arab world and the Middle East to replace capital punishment with life imprisonment with aggravated hard labour. The move formalizes a de facto halt on executions that had been in place since 2004.
Key Takeaways
The decision is being hailed by human rights groups as a landmark reform. It is a major shift in criminal justice policy and strengthens the global trend away from capital punishment.