BEIRUT ABOLISHES DEATH PENALTY

BEIRUT, AUGUST 11 /SRNA/ - Lebanon’s Parliament has abolished the death penalty, making the country the first in the Arab world to replace executions with life imprisonment with hard labor, AP reported.

A majority of members of Lebanon’s 128-seat Parliament voted in favour of abolishing the death penalty, except for the Hezbollah parliamentary bloc.

Justice Minister Adel Nassar, who attended the parliamentary session, called the decision a historic step for the country.

Human rights organisations that had campaigned for the formalisation of the moratorium or the complete abolition of the death penalty also welcomed the vote.

Lebanon has observed an unofficial moratorium on executions since January 2004. However, dozens of death sentences have been handed down since then, although they were later suspended or commuted.