Lebanon passes first general amnesty since 1991

Lebanon's parliament passed a general amnesty law on Wednesday, the country's first such measure since 1991, with the legislation expected to benefit thousands of prisoners and wanted people.

The office of the parliament speaker announced approval of a draft law granting a general amnesty and reducing some sentences. The final text has not yet been published.

The measure is intended in part to reduce severe prison overcrowding. Lebanon's National Human Rights Commission said in its 2025 report that prisons had an overcrowding rate of 300 percent, with prison authorities reporting at least 6,268 inmates by the end of March.

Lawmakers and experts said the measure includes a broad amnesty for crimes committed before March, with exceptions. Murder and acts of terrorism against civilians, soldiers and security forces will not be pardoned, but they may be subject to reduced sentences.

Imad al-Hout, a lawmaker who supported the bill, said the law reduces death and life sentences to 17 prison years. In Lebanon, where a prison year is calculated as nine months, that equals 12 years and nine months of actual imprisonment. He also said 79 Islamist detainees or convicts out of 146 were expected to be released immediately.

The law also calls for the release of inmates who have been detained for more than 12 prison years if a court has not reached a verdict. It excludes crimes of treason, espionage and illicit ties with Israel, as well as crimes against public funds, public-sector corruption, illicit enrichment and several financial and banking-related offences.

The law had been demanded by several political factions and debated for years. Many Islamist prisoners in Lebanon were jailed over events linked to the Syrian civil war, and many come from the northern Sunni-majority city of Tripoli.

Late Wednesday, dozens of men rode mopeds and gathered in Tripoli to celebrate the amnesty, some carrying flags bearing the Islamic shahada, chanting and setting off fireworks. Shadi Abu Omar, whose brother is in jail, said families had waited a long time for the amnesty, though he said he wished it had been broader.

Other political forces had sought to include different communities. Hezbollah had called for amnesty for people held over drug-related offences and car theft in the eastern Baalbek and Hermel regions, while Christian parties pushed for the law to include families of people who joined an Israeli-backed proxy and fled to Israel after its 2000 withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

The measure has also drawn warnings from critics. Nizar Saghieh, executive director of the non-governmental group Legal Agenda, said vagueness over exempted crimes could lead to legal disputes and argued that the law reflected political bargaining rather than a broader reconciliation process.

Supporters rejected that criticism. Legislator Bilal Abdallah said the law was “national and humanitarian” before being “sectarian,” while Hout said it opened a door to reconciliation and justice.