Although courts have continued to issue death sentences over the years, none of these sentences have been carried out since 2004. However, capital punishment remained part of Lebanese law until today. In fact, Lebanon’s parliament has passed a law abolishing the death penalty, making it the first country in the Middle East to formally end capital punishment. As far as existing death sentences are concerned, they will be replaced with life imprisonment with aggravated hard labor.
Ending the death penalty is an important step forward, but there is still a long way to go toward building a justice system that truly protects both victims and defendants.