Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 06:49pm on 11 Aug 2026,Tuesday International
Lebanon’s parliament has voted to abolish the death penalty, a move that could make the country the first in the Middle East to formally end capital punishment. A majority of lawmakers in the 128-seat parliament supported the legislation, while Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc opposed it. The bill will now go to the cabinet before being sent to President Joseph Aoun for approval. Lebanon has not carried out an execution since 2004, although courts have continued to issue death sentences. Under the proposed law, capital punishment would be replaced with life imprisonment with hard labour. Rights groups welcomed the move after decades of campaigning. (PC: BBC)
