Lebanon Becomes First Middle East Country to Abolish the Death Penalty

Lebanon's 128-member parliament voted on 11 August 2026 to abolish capital punishment, making it the first Middle Eastern state to do so by law. The bill replaces death sentences with life imprisonment and aggravated hard labour. Hezbollah's bloc alone opposed the measure. Lebanon had observed an unofficial execution moratorium since 2004; 85 death-row inmates will now have sentences commuted.