Parliament Approves Abolition of Death Penalty
The Parliament began discussing a proposal to abolish the death penalty during Tuesday’s legislative session.
At the opening of the session, Kataeb Party leader MP Samy Gemayel called on Speaker Nabih Berri to convene a special parliamentary session to discuss the ongoing war in Lebanon, questioning the absence of debate on the issue in what he described as the country’s foremost constitutional institution.
Defense Minister Major General Michel Menassa later left Parliament.
MPs subsequently approved the proposal to abolish the death penalty after introducing amendments. Under an amendment proposed by MP Abdul Rahman Bizri, crimes committed before the law’s enactment would carry life imprisonment, while crimes committed after its enactment would be punishable by aggravated life imprisonment.
The plenary then began examining the proposed media law.
Discussion of the media law was later postponed until the evening session at 6:00 pm, with Berri adjourning the sitting until that time.
