Lebanon ends executions: Where does the death penalty still exist in 2026?

Three-quarters of the world has abolished the death penalty in law or in practice, according to Amnesty International.Published On 12 Aug 202612 Aug 2026Lebanon has become the first country in the Middle East to abolish the death penalty.On Tuesday, a majority of the 128-member parliament voted in favour of scrapping capital punishment. Death sentences will be replaced with life imprisonment with aggravated hard labour.Lebanon has observed an unofficial moratorium on executions since January 2004, but its courts have continued to issue dozens of death sentences.At the end of 2025, 85 people were facing death sentences, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Justice’s Directorate of Prisons.Which countries still have the death penalty?According to the latest Amnesty International report on death sentences and executions, as of December, close to three-quarters of the world’s countries had abolished the death penalty in law or practice, meaning they have not carried out executions for the past 10 years.Some countries have abolished the death penalty for “ordinary crimes” only, which refers to exceptional crimes such as those committed under military law or those committed in exception...