Lebanon's parliament has voted to abolish the death penalty, in what officials and rights advocates have described as a historic step that makes the country the first in the Middle East to formally end capital punishment.

The decision was announced on Tuesday by the office of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, which confirmed that lawmakers had approved a bill seeking to abolish the death penalty. Lebanon has not carried out an execution since 2004, although capital punishment has remained on the country's statute books.

Justice Minister Adel Nassar welcomed the development, describing it as historic. He said the continued existence of the death penalty had previously created difficulties for Lebanon in securing the extradition of suspects from countries that have abolished capital punishment.

With the abolition, Lebanon joins the growing number of countries worldwide that have formally ended the death penalty, further strengthening calls from international human rights groups for other states to follow suit.

— BBC