BEIRUT — Lebanon's parliament voted Tuesday to abolish the death penalty, replacing all current death sentences with life imprisonment, according to a statement from the speaker's office.
The vote makes Lebanon the first country in the Middle East to formally end capital punishment and closes a de facto moratorium on executions in place since 2004.
Despite the long pause, dozens of people had technically remained on death row. Crimes previously punishable by death in Lebanon included murder and treason.
Lawmakers submitted a draft abolition law last year. The parliament's statement did not include a vote count.
The European Union welcomed the move, saying Lebanon was setting an example for other nations across the Middle East and beyond.
Heba Morayef, Amnesty International's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, called the decision a major milestone and a clear victory for human rights.
Morayef said the legislation converts years of uncertain halts in executions into lasting legal protection, upholding the right to life and aligning Lebanon with a global trend toward abolition.
In a separate effort, parliament is also debating a general amnesty for certain crimes, in part to ease overcrowding in the country's prisons.
