Lebanon abolishes death penalty: Current status in 2026

Lebanon has become the first country in the Middle East to abolish the death penalty, with a parliamentary vote replacing capital punishment with life imprisonment and hard labor. Although Lebanon has maintained a moratorium on executions since 2004, 85 individuals were still facing death sentences as of the end of 2025. Globally, three-quarters of countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice, with Amnesty International reporting a rise in executions to 2,707 in 2025, largely driven by Iran.

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