Lebanon's parliament on Tuesday abolished the death penalty and replaced all existing death sentences with life imprisonment, the speaker's office said in a statement.
A view shows the parliament building in downtown Beirut, Lebanon © Mena Today
Lebanon's parliament on Tuesday abolished the death penalty and replaced all existing death sentences with life imprisonment, the speaker's office said in a statement.
The move makes it the first country in the Middle East to formally end capital punishment, after maintaining a de facto moratorium on executions since 2004, although dozens of people had remained technically on death row. Crimes that were punishable with a death sentence included murder and treason.
Last year, Lebanese lawmakers submitted a law to abolish capital punishment. Parliament's statement on Tuesday did not include a vote count.
The European Union welcomed the move, saying Lebanon was setting "a powerful example for other countries" in the Middle East and beyond.
“Lebanon’s decision to abolish the death penalty marks a major milestone and a victory for human rights in the country," said Amnesty International's Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Heba Morayef.
"After more than two decades without executions, today’s step transforms a precarious hiatus in executions into lasting legal protection upholding the right to life and bringing Lebanon in line with the global trend towards abolition," Morayef said.
Lebanon's parliament is separately discussing legislation on a general amnesty for some crimes, partly as a way to relieve overcrowding in prisons.
Reporting and writing by Maya Gebeily
Following the announcement that it had achieved "operational control" of the Ali Taher ridge, the Israeli military is reportedly preparing to reduce troop levels in southern Lebanon and shrink the footprint of its occupied "buffer zone," according to several Israeli security officials cited by Israel's Channel Kan 11.
The Israeli military said it was striking southern Lebanon early on Sunday in retaliation for Hezbollah firing two drones at Israeli soldiers stationed in a part of the region it has declared a security zone.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Saturday said there was no plan to force Palestinians to leave Gaza after two Israeli ministers this week floated proposals for the mass removal of Palestinians from the coastal territory.
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