Lebanon's parliament voted on Tuesday to abolish the death penalty. According to a statement from the speaker's office, all existing death sentences have been replaced with life imprisonment.
The legislation replaces the death penalty with life imprisonment and aggravated hard labor. With this decision, Lebanon has become the first Arab and Middle East country to formally abolish the practice.
This official abolition follows a long period of inactivity, as Lebanon had not carried out an execution since 2004.