Lebanon could become the first country in the Middle East to abolish the death penalty. A majority of parliament deputies have supported the measure, according to infohub.kz.
According to the publication, a majority of deputies in the 128-seat parliament supported the decision to abolish the death penalty in Lebanon, while the Hezbollah parliamentary bloc voted against it.
The bill will now be sent to the cabinet of ministers and then to President Joseph Aoun for signature. The government has already expressed its support for the measure.
It is noted that Lebanon has not carried out executions since January 2004, although courts continue to issue death sentences. Human rights organizations have calculated that more than 78 people are still on death row.
Under the new legislation, the death penalty will be replaced by life imprisonment with hard labor. However, the law does not yet specify in detail how the new form of punishment will be applied.
Forced labor is already stipulated in Lebanese legislation, but has rarely been applied in practice in recent years. The country's financial crisis and overcrowded prisons have limited the resources and capabilities of the authorities.
The publication clarified that previously the death penalty in Lebanon could be imposed for some of the most serious crimes, including aggravated murder, certain terrorism-related crimes resulting in death, high treason, espionage, and crimes against state security.
Previous attempts to abolish the death penalty have failed, including a bill introduced in parliament in 2004 and a proposal by the Ministry of Justice in 2008.