The death penalty has been abolished in Lebanon.

On August 11, 2026, the Lebanese Parliament approved the abolition of the death penalty. Lebanon thus becomes the first country in the Middle East and the Arab world to formally abolish the death penalty, and existing death sentences are converted to prison terms.

The decision was made by a large majority, and the political coalition led by Hezbollah did not participate in the vote (but did not vote against it either), walking out of the chamber as the count was being counted. This law essentially amends an article of the Criminal Code, repealing Article 43 and eliminating Articles 420 and 424, which regulated the procedure for arriving at capital sentences.

The key figure who led the Lebanese Parliament to this historic turning point, which saved so many lives rather than wasting them, was Abdurraman (ʿAbd al-Rahman) al-Bizri, a Lebanese physician and politician, currently a Sunni MP for Sidon (Saida) . Abdurraman taught at the American University of Beirut and was also involved in the national management of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly as president of the National Commission for Vaccination. Before entering Parliament, he served as mayor of Sidon from 2004 to 2010 and president of the Sidon-Zahrani Union of Municipalities. Al-Bizri was also involved in the controversial general amnesty project , which was intended, among other things, to address prison overcrowding.

Most significantly, the abolition of the death penalty in Lebanon occurs in the midst of the war and creates an important precedent throughout the Arab Middle East (in March 2026, however, Israel reinstated the death penalty by hanging for terrorist crimes, and only for Palestinians).  

As of 31 December 2025, the most up-to-date data available from Amnesty International , published in May 2026, photograph this global scenario on the death penalty:

• 113 Countries they had abolished it for all crimes.
• 9 Countries They had abolished it only for ordinary crimes, keeping it for exceptional circumstances.
• 23 Countries they were abolitionists  The death penalty is still in effect, but no executions have been carried out for at least 10 years.
• 54 Countries they kept it legally and concretely as a possibility of punishment. 

In 2025, Amnesty documented at least 2.707 executions in 17 countries (the majority in Iran). This is a staggering figure: 78% more than the 1.518 in 2024 and the highest number recorded by Amnesty since 1981.

To these data we must also add the statistics of countries that do not provide official statistics. China, for example, considers execution data a state secret. Amnesty believes that thousands of executions were carried out in China in 2025 , but it is not possible to establish a reliable number. North Korea and Vietnam also likely carry out numerous executions that cannot be quantified.

Cover image source: Wikipedia

Read also:

• Death penalty: it is completely useless
• In America there are more guns than people