Lebanon's parliament approves bill abolishing the death penalty

The Chamber of Deputies (Lebanon's unicameral parliament) approved by a majority of votes a bill abolishing the death penalty after amendments were made to it.

This was reported by the Lebanese agency NNA.

The bill provides for resolving the question of the most severe punishment for crimes committed before the law enters into force.

As parliament Speaker Nabih Berri explained the day before, the agreed wording was developed in the course of consultations with deputy George Adwan and is intended to settle the issue of applying enhanced punishment for crimes committed before the adoption of the new law.

The death penalty had formally remained in Lebanese legislation for many years, but its use had effectively been suspended. The last death sentence in the country was carried out in 2004.

Source: TASS