Lebanon becomes first Arab country to abolish death penalty

Lebanon on August 11 became the first Arab country to abolish the death penalty, replacing it with life imprisonment with hard labor, AP News reported.

The small Mediterranean country had not carried out executions since January 2004. However, dozens of death sentences have been imposed in that time, which have since been suspended or commuted to another sentence.

The majority of the 128 members of the Lebanese parliament voted to abolish the death penalty, with the exception of the Hezbollah parliamentary faction. Justice Minister Adil Nassar called the decision a “historic step” for the country.

Ramzi Kais, a Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch, said Lebanon is putting an end to a cruel punishment that should never have been used. According to him, “The death penalty is characterized by its cruelty and rigidity. The punishment is full of arbitrariness, error and bias.”

It is not yet known how the new punishment — aggravated hard labor — will be implemented. Some lawmakers say the terms of the new punishment are not yet clear. Although hard labor is a law and court order in Lebanon, it has rarely been used in recent years due to financial problems and overcrowding in prisons.

The abolition of the death penalty comes as parliament is discussing a controversial general amnesty law. It is the largest amnesty since the end of the 15-year civil war in 1990. The law could reduce the sentences of convicted militants and drug dealers or release them, with certain exceptions.

Families of Lebanese soldiers killed or attacked by Islamist militant groups have repeatedly protested the law, with some saying they expected the perpetrators of their deaths to be executed, not commuted. Earlier, it was reported that Lebanon had begun deploying its army in areas liberated from Israeli occupation.