BEIRUT: Lebanon’s parliament on Tuesday (Aug 11) abolished the dying penalty, making the nation the primary within the Center East to formally finish the follow.
Lebanon had not carried out an execution since 2004, however sentences had been nonetheless being issued, the most recent being on Monday, and Amnesty Worldwide stated no less than 85 folks had been nonetheless on dying row by January.
Capital punishment sometimes utilized to main crimes like homicide, terrorism and espionage, amongst others.
Essentially the most extreme crimes will now be given life sentences with arduous labour, in keeping with Lebanon’s state-run Nationwide Information Company.
Justice Minister Adel Nassar, who was on the parliament, referred to as the abolition “historic”, and stated the spectre of capital punishment had beforehand prevented Beirut from acquiring the extradition of suspects from international locations the place it has been outlawed.
Unbiased lawmaker Firas Hamdan celebrated the transfer in a put up on X, thanking “everybody who contributed, for over greater than 20 years, to reaching this second”.
The transfer was additionally hailed by the United Nations, with rights chief Volker Turk calling on Lebanon’s neighbours within the Center East “that also keep the dying penalty to comply with its lead in ending this inhumane follow”.
He stated the transfer represented a “highly effective and principled dedication to the best to life” in a rustic racked by battle.
The European Union stated Lebanon was “setting a robust instance for different international locations within the Center East and past”.
Former colonial energy France referred to as the choice “historic and brave”.
French Overseas Minister Jean-Noel Barrot wrote on X that the vote confirmed Lebanon “stays an instance by way of its potential to uphold the democratic values and freedoms that lie on the basis of its existence”.
