Lebanon
Foreign Nationals and the Death Penalty
Death Penalty Overview
Since Lebanon's independence in 1943, the
death sentence has been a legal punishment,
although its application has been sporadic.
Since independence, 51 people have been
executed for crimes including murder,
terrorism and espionage. Of these, about 11
were foreign nationals. The last three
executions to date were carried out in 2004.
Although there has been a de facto
moratorium on executions in Lebanon since
2004, death sentences are still handed down
by the courts. No of cial statistics are
available on how many current prisoners are
on death row. However, a report released in
2022 by Ensemble Contre la Peine de Mort
(ECPM), based on data collected between
2015 and 2019 reports at least 89 death
sentences in that period, 20 of whom were
sentenced in absentia. According to this
study, the number of people currently held
on death row is approximately 81, 20 of
whom are foreign nationals, most of them
convicted of murder.
Lebanon used to have a mandatory death
penalty for certain crimes, including murder,
but this was abolished in 2001. However,
cases tried before 2001 have not been
reviewed.
Law 183/2011 allows judges to commute
death sentences to sentences of 20-35 years
imprisonment, under certain conditions, yet
so far only one person has had their sentence
commuted since this law began.
Despite the de facto moratorium, there is a
lively public discourse on the death penalty
in Lebanon. In 2008, the newly appointed
Minister of Justice, Ibrahim Najjar, intervened
against the resumption of executions by
refusing to sign 19 death sentences that had
already been countersigned by the President
and the Chairman of the Council. As a result,
the execution of these death sentences, was
blocked, even though President Michel
Suleiman had publicly demanded their
enforcement. The moratorium is thus by no
means rm, but subject to current political
circumstances.
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A lack of con dence in the judicial system
and a dysfunctional government have