Lebanon ends executions: Where does the death penalty still exist in 2026?

What the report says

Lebanon has become the first country in the Middle East to abolish the death penalty, according to Al Jazeera’s report published on 12 August 2026. The Lebanese parliament, which has 128 members, voted by majority to end capital punishment and replace death sentences with life imprisonment that includes aggravated hard labour. The move formalizes a shift in policy after the country had already maintained an unofficial pause on executions since January 2004.

Al Jazeera reported that Lebanese courts had continued to hand down death sentences despite the moratorium. By the end of 2025, 85 people were still facing death sentences, based on figures from the Lebanese Ministry of Justice’s Directorate of Prisons. The article presents the vote as a significant legal and political step because it removes the death penalty from Lebanese law rather than merely suspending its use.

The report also places Lebanon’s decision in a wider global context using Amnesty International data. Amnesty said that close to three-quarters of the world’s countries have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice. Its latest monitoring showed 113 countries had abolished it for all crimes, nine for ordinary crimes only, and 23 in practice, while 54 still retained it. Amnesty also recorded 2,707 executions in 2025 across 17 countries, with Iran accounting for the largest share of the increase.