Lebanon’s parliament Tuesday abolished the death penalty, making it the first country in the Arab world to replace the sentencing with life imprisonment with aggravated hard labor, according to the AP.
Aggravated hard labor is already written into Lebanese law but has rarely been implemented in recent years. The country's financial crisis and overcrowded prisons have limited the authorities' resources and capacity.
Lebanon has not carried out an execution since January 2004, although courts have continued to hand down death sentences. Rights groups estimate that more than 78 people remain on death row.
Under Lebanese law, the death penalty could previously be imposed for some of the country's most serious offenses, including aggravated murder, certain terrorism-related crimes resulting in death, treason, espionage and offenses against state security.
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