Lebanon abolishes the death penalty after 22 years without an execution

Lebanon has turned a 22-year pause in executions into a permanent legal change. Here are four things worth knowing.

1. The problem
   Although Lebanon had not executed anyone since January 2004, courts could still impose death sentences. At the end of 2025, 85 people were facing them.

2. The response
   On 11 August, parliament voted to abolish capital punishment for all crimes. Existing death sentences will be replaced with life imprisonment, following decades of campaigning by Lebanese human-rights groups and supportive lawmakers.

3. What the evidence shows
   The 22-year gap showed that Lebanon’s justice system could operate without executions. Changing the law goes further: it removes the risk that a future government could restart them and makes an irreversible punishment legally unavailable.

4. The limitations
   The replacement sentence includes aggravated hard labour, which raises separate human-rights concerns. Lebanon still faces overcrowded prisons, delayed trials and questions about how existing sentences will be changed. Abolition is a major safeguard for life, but it is one part of building a fairer justice system.